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UFO whistleblower, GOP lawmaker urge increased transparency on Pentagon's UAPs program: 'It's beyond belief'
Former Navy pilot Ryan Graves testified at a congressional hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena
Former Navy pilot Ryan Graves and Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., urged more transparency from the U.S. government on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) after a historic congressional hearing with military whistleblowers.
Graves and Burchett discussed allegations of the Pentagon's secretive handling of UAPs and programs related to crash retrieval and reverse engineering on "Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy."
"Congress is now talking about this in a way they haven't before, and I think even some of the members that attended the hearing themselves were shocked to hear what was said," Graves said Sunday.
UFO WHISTLEBLOWER PRAISES HISTORIC CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON 'NON-HUMAN' CRAFT: 'INFLECTION POINT'
Last week, the former U.S. Navy F-18 pilot was joined by U.S. Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch and retired U.S. Navy commander David Fravor at a House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs regarding UAPs, formerly known as unidentified flying objects (UFO).
Graves stated during his testimony that, "The objects that are being seen by commercial pilots are performing maneuvers that are unexplainable due to our current understanding of our technology and our capabilities as a country."
Grusch claimed that the government was in possession of "non-human" biological material, which was allegedly recovered from retrieved crashed craft.
UFO LEGISLATION TO USHER IN NEW AGE OF TRANSPARENCY: 'LONG PAST TIME'
Burchett has advocated for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to create a select committee on UAPs and described the situation as "beyond belief," emphasizing the potential risk posed to both America's military and commercial aircraft, as well as the Pentagon's "denial" of the issue. He further cited transparency as a primary concern for the Pentagon withholding such critical information that affects national security and the safety of Americans.
"We better keep digging, and I hope Congress, and I hope the speaker agrees with us and appoints that special committee," Burchett said.
According to Graves, the stigma associated with reporting UAP sightings is "so bad," it has discouraged commercial aviators from reporting encounters with UAPs. He added, that combined with the Department of Defense's reluctance to release any information, it has the potential to create a hazardous environment in the skies.
When asked if Americans should be worried that the U.S. government has retrieved non-human "biologies," Graves reassured Americans, stating that, "Based off of the hearing and the way it's been performed, I think we are [up to the task]."
For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion, and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media.
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https://www.foxnews.com/media/ufo-whistleblower-gop-lawmaker-urge-increased-transparency-pentagons-uaps-program-beyond-belief
| 2023-07-31T20:23:14
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https://www.foxnews.com/media/ufo-whistleblower-gop-lawmaker-urge-increased-transparency-pentagons-uaps-program-beyond-belief
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John Isner 2023 Mifel Open Odds
John Isner, off a loss in the round of 32 of the Truist Atlanta Open (to Dominik Koepfer) in his previous tournament, will open the Mifel Open in Los Cabos, Mexico versus Rinky Hijikata in the round of 32. Isner's odds are +1400 to win this event at Cabo Sports Complex.
Find all the latest odds for the 2023 Mifel Open and place your bets with a new user bonus from BetMGM.
Isner at the 2023 Mifel Open
- Next Round: Round of 32
- Tournament Dates: July 28 - August 6
- Venue: Cabo Sports Complex
- Location: Los Cabos, Mexico
- Court Surface: Hard
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Isner's Next Match
In the round of 32 of the Mifel Open, on Monday, July 31 (at 10:20 PM ET), Isner will meet Hijikata.
Isner is currently listed at -160 to win his next contest against Hijikata. Check out the latest odds for the entire field at BetMGM.
John Isner Grand Slam Odds
- US Open odds to win: +12500
- Mifel Open odds to win: +1400
Want to bet on Isner? Head to BetMGM using our link for a bonus bet special offer for new players!
Isner Stats
- In his most recent tournament, the Truist Atlanta Open, Isner was eliminated in the Round of 32 by No. 88-ranked Koepfer, 6-3, 6-7, 6-7.
- Isner is 12-14 over the past 12 months, with no tournament titles.
- Isner is 9-10 on hard courts over the past year.
- Isner, over the past year, has played 26 matches across all court surfaces, and 29.2 games per match.
- On hard courts, Isner has played 19 matches over the past year, and 28.3 games per match.
- Isner has won 11.0% of his return games and 88.1% of his service games over the past 12 months.
- On hard courts over the past year, Isner has been victorious in 10.3% of his return games and 89.8% of his service games.
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| 2023-07-31T20:23:15
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PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s journalists on Monday protested against the government’s decision to suspend a private television station’s operations.
Authorities made the move last week because they said there were irregularities concerning the registration of Klan Kosova’s business license that violated the country’s constitution.
Scores of journalists and members of civil society organizations gathered in downtown Pristina in front of the main government building to protest the suspension of the broadcaster’s operations.
The demonstrators said it was a “politically motivated” action taken by the government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti. It was the first closure of a media outlet since the end of Kosovo’s 1998-1999 war, they said, holding a banner that read “Democracy dies in darkness.”
Last week, Kosovo’s Ministry of Industry and Trade suspended Klan Kosova’s license, after the documentation of its business registration in neighboring North Macedonia showed that its owners had named Kosovo’s municipalities as if belonging to Serbia, “which is a violation of our constitution,” according to a statement released Monday.
The journalist accused the government’s decision as “an open and unprecedented war … against the media,” urging owners of Klan Kosova to continue its legal fight at the court.
Klan Kosova’s editor-in-chief, Gazmend, Syla called the suspension “unfair.”
“We consider this a kind of pressure to stop us doing of what we are doing,” he told The Associated Press, adding they would challenge the government’s decision in court.
Last month, Kosovo’s Agency of Business Registration found the alleged fault and decided to suspend the operations of the television station, a move supported last week by the ministry.
The station has said it had already fixed the problems as requested.
Klan Kosova was launched in 2009 to become the country’s biggest private television station.
The embassies of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the European Union in Kosovo, expressed “their deep concern” about the suspension of Klan Kosova’s business license considering it “a disproportionate decision that will have repercussions on media plurality in Kosovo.”
Kosovo is a former province in Serbia, which doesn’t recognize Pristina’s 2008 declaration of independence. Kosovo’s sovereignty is backed by the U.S. and most EU nations, but not by Russia and China.
Serbia pulled out of Kosovo in 1999 after NATO bombed the country to stop the onslaught against ethnic Albanian separatists. At least 10,000 civilians, most of them ethnic Albanians, were killed in the conflict.
——-
Llazar Semini reported from Tirana, Albania.
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https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/business/ap-kosovo-journalists-protest-governments-suspension-of-private-television-station/
| 2023-07-31T20:23:15
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(The Hill) – Country singer Jason Aldean defended his controversial song “Try That in a Small Town” in Massachusetts over the weekend, saying the message of the track was demonstrated by the city of Boston after the devastating marathon bombing 10 years ago.
Speaking to fans at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, about 40 miles from where the terrorist attack occurred, killing three and injuring hundreds, Aldean told fans the message of his song has been “overshadowed by all the bulls—.”
“I was lying in bed last night and I was thinking to myself, you guys would get this better than anybody, right,” Aldean said, according to NBC News. “Because I remember a time, I think it was April 2013, when the Boston Marathon bombings happened, you guys remember this right?” he asked the audience.
“The last time that happened was a whole, not a small town, a big-ass town came together, no matter your color, no matter anything,” he continued. “No matter if you’re anything. The whole country and especially Boston came together to find” the culprits.
Aldean has faced growing backlash for his song and the music video for what some consider racially charged lyrics and images. The song, which was released in May, tells protesters who “cuss out a cop, spit in his face, stomp on the flag and light it up” they could see retribution from small town residents.
Others expressed outrage over the location where the video was shot: outside a courthouse in Columbia, Tenn., where a Black man was lynched in the 1920s and which almost became the lynching spot of Thurgood Marshall, the Supreme Court’s first African American justice.
After some accused the song of glorifying sundown towns, or all-white neighborhoods where Black people were discouraged from being after dark through white violence, the music video pulled from CMT.
Republicans, however, have stood behind the song, with former President Trump, whom Aldean supported in 2020, defending the singer and calling him a “fantastic guy.”
Aldean has vehemently denied accusations that “Try That in a Small Town” carries racist undertones, and on Saturday he told concert-goers the song has nothing to do with race but about punishing those who threaten America, just as Bostonians would have if they had caught the 2013 bombers, brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
“And anybody, any of you guys that would’ve found those guys before the cops did, I know you guys from Boston, and you guys would’ve beat the s— outta them, either one of ‘em,” Aldean said. “And I’ve been trying to say, this is not about race, it’s about people getting their s— together and acting right, acting like you’ve got some common sense.”
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https://cbs4indy.com/news/national-world/jason-aldean-boston-exemplified-try-that-in-a-small-town-response-after-marathon-bombing/
| 2023-07-31T20:23:17
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SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — Defending Formula One champion Max Verstappen enters the mid-season break in unstoppable form, after emphatically winning the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday for an eighth straight win and 10th overall of a crushingly dominant season.
Despite starting from sixth place he finished 22.3 seconds ahead of teammate Sergio Perez to give Red Bull an easy 1-2. It moved Verstappen ominously closer to a third straight world title and his own F1 record of 15 wins from last year.
Verstappen is 125 points ahead of Perez after just 12 races, and his next target is matching Sebastian Vettel’s F1 record of nine straight wins with a victory at the Dutch GP when the lopsided season resumes on Aug. 27.
“I just want to have a nice time now, have a bit of time with family and friends,” Verstappen said.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc finished in third spot for a third podium of the season, with Lewis Hamilton in fourth for Mercedes ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
George Russell was sixth for Mercedes, with Lando Norris (McLaren), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), and Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) completing the top 10.
Leclerc started on pole ahead of Perez, with Hamilton and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. behind them. McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri was on the next row alongside Verstappen — who was fastest in Friday’s qualifying but took a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change and had to avoid early traffic.
“It was just about surviving turn one. I could see it was all getting really tight,” Verstappen said. “I’ve been in that position before myself so I am just going to stay out of that and it worked out. From there onwards I made the right overtakes.”
Last year Verstappen won from 14th, and once he overtook Perez on Lap 17 of 44 his 45th career win was seemingly inevitable.
“Really enjoyable to drive once I got in the lead,” Verstappen said. “It was again a great race.“
Red Bull extended its record to 13 straight wins, including the final race of last season.
Hamilton came in on the penultimate lap for a tire change and the move paid off as he took the bonus point for fastest lap from Verstappen — a very minor blip for the dominant Dutchman.
It was yet another stellar weekend for Verstappen, who also won Saturday’s sprint race. The only issue was some more bickering with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase over radio, as they continued their spat from Friday’s qualifying.
“Don’t forget Max, use your head, please,” Lambiase told Verstappen when he questioned why Perez was making his first tire change on Lap 14.
Verstappen defused any talk of tension with Lambiase.
“It’s fine. We know each other very well and we have a very good relationship,” he said. “I think it’s really important.”
With some rain forecast, Verstappen boxed on the next lap and came out about 2 seconds behind Perez. Just minutes later he cruised past Perez and, as so often this season, the rest was just about control.
Perez, meanwhile, pledged to stay on the podium for the rest of the season.
“It’s been a bit of a rough patch,” the 33-year-old Mexican said. “I really need this summer break, it’s been really intense. I’ll come back really strong for Zandvoort.”
Conditions were dry for the race start, in stark contrast to the two previous days, which were impacted by heavy rain at the 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Leclerc, who won his first F1 race here in 2019, made a solid start but Perez’s extra pace soon put him in front.
“I knew it was quite crucial for my race to get Charles on Lap 1,” Perez said.
Verstappen rose two places to fourth after Sainz bumped into Piastri on the first corner.
Piastri had to retire, while Verstappen overtook Hamilton on Lap 6, Leclerc three laps later and made short work of Perez just before some rain fell briefly.
Some good overtaking from Ocon moved the Frenchman up from 10th to eighth in the closing stages.
It was an early end for Piastri, who had impressed with a second place in Saturday’s sprint race.
A bad day for Sainz saw him retiring on Lap 25 and Leclerc moving above him in the standings.
“Of course the race was good on my side, a shame for Carlos as we had good pace,” Leclerc said. “When you look at the Red Bulls we still have a lot of work to do … This was the best we could achieve today, no doubt.”
After the F1 break there will be 10 races left, but most of the competition for places will be behind Verstappen.
Alonso is one point ahead of Hamilton in third overall, with Leclerc and Russell level and Sainz seven points behind them.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/30/verstappen-looks-unstoppable-as-he-enters-the-f1-break-with-a-massive-lead/
| 2023-07-31T20:23:18
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Barrel with body found at Malibu beach, California authorities say
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has not released information on description of the remains
Authorities in Malibu, California are investigating human remains that were discovered Monday in a large drum.
Someone at Malibu Lagoon State Beach called the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to report a 55-gallon drum with a body inside, an LASD official told Fox News Digital.
The drum was found around 10:30 a.m.
Crews with the Los Angeles County Fire Department brought the barrel to land.
EX-AUBURN FOOTBALL PLAYER WAS LOCKED IN NASTY CUSTODY BATTLE BEFORE WIFE'S ALLEGED MURDER PLOT
Homicide detectives responded to the scene, authorities said.
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Investigators have not released details about the remains – gender, age or possible cause of death.
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https://www.foxnews.com/us/barrel-body-found-malibu-beach-california-authorities
| 2023-07-31T20:23:20
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https://www.foxnews.com/us/barrel-body-found-malibu-beach-california-authorities
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BOISE, Idaho (KTVX) – Lori Vallow Daybell, convicted of murdering her children, among other crimes, was sentenced to five life sentences in prison Monday with no possibility of parole. This sentencing brings closure to nearly four years of investigation and a trial.
Daybell, 49, was found guilty of murder, and conspiracy to commit murder of her children Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16. She was also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Tammy Daybell, the former wife of her husband, Chad Daybell. Additionally, Lori was found guilty of grand theft.
Lori was sentenced to five life sentences without the possibility of parole, three of which will run consecutively, for her involvement in their murders and the conspiracy to commit murder. While many called for the death penalty, it was ruled out by a judge in March 2023 prior to her murder trial.
The case began in 2018 when Lori and Chad met at a religious conference in St. George. They became close friends, and even lovers, though both were married to other people. In July 2019, Lori’s husband Charles Vallow was killed by her brother, and it was declared self-defense, but later identified as a homicide.
Then in late-2019, Lori’s two children went missing — a case that captivated the United States. And while investigators were frantically searching for the kids, Lori and Chad were in Hawaii getting married.
Chad’s wife Tammy died a few weeks before Lori and Chad ran to Hawaii, but after the children went missing. Her death was originally ruled natural causes but later declared asphyxiation at the hands of another after her body was exhumed.
In February 2020, Lori was arrested on charges of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children. In April, Lori and Chad were both under investigation for conspiracy, attempted murder, and murder. They both pleaded not guilty.
During the final stages of the investigation leading up to their scheduled trials in January 2023, Tylee and JJ’s remains were found buried on Chad’s property.
Because of the large amount of evidence discovered, and the fact that Chad waived his right to a speedy trial, he will face his charges in April 2024. However, Lori did not waive her right to a speedy trial and appeared in court on April 2023, where she was found guilty on all charges.
Now, in July 2023, nearly four years after Lori’s children were murdered, she was sentenced to life in prison on all counts.
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https://cbs4indy.com/news/national-world/lori-vallow-daybell-given-5-life-sentences-in-prison-for-murders-of-her-two-children/
| 2023-07-31T20:23:23
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https://cbs4indy.com/news/national-world/lori-vallow-daybell-given-5-life-sentences-in-prison-for-murders-of-her-two-children/
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DETROIT (AP) — Major changes in Michigan’s car insurance system don’t apply to people who were catastrophically injured before a 2019 law kicked in, the state Supreme Court said Monday in a decision that delivers critical relief to thousands of people counting on long-term benefits.
But the 5-2 opinion didn’t come soon enough for Brian Woodward, who was paralyzed in the 1980s and had frequently talked about the law’s drastic impact on his care. He died Monday at age 64, his family said.
For decades, crash survivors were entitled to lifetime payment for “all reasonable charges” related to care and rehabilitation. But a new state law set a fee schedule and a cap on reimbursements. Suddenly, 18,000 people already receiving benefits were forced to scramble as some health providers dropped out.
The Supreme Court, however, said a “vested contractual right” to ongoing benefits “cannot be stripped away or diminished,” especially when lawmakers failed to declare an intent to do so when they changed the law.
The decision was written by Justice Elizabeth Welch, a Democrat, and joined by other Democratic justices and by Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement, a Republican.
In an effort to lower Michigan’s insurance rates, which were among the highest in the U.S., the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer agreed to sweeping changes in 2019. Drivers can save money by choosing certain injury-coverage options. But payments for certain care were also slashed.
The catastrophically injured include hockey star Vladimir Konstantinov, a former member of the Detroit Red Wings, who requires 24/7 care. He suffered severe brain damage in 1997 when a drunken limousine driver crashed the car he was traveling in, following the team’s NHL championship.
Woodward suffered devastating spinal injuries in a crash but was able to get in-home care and even hold a job through insurance. When the law changed, and care rates were reduced, he said he lost caregivers and was shuttled from facility to facility.
“I’m dying,” Woodward told The Detroit News last week. “My body is breaking down because I’m not getting enough exercise.”
Tim Hoste, president of CPAN, a coalition of medical organizations and consumer groups, said the law led to the “spiritual, emotional and physical decline of many people, including Brian.”
An industry trade group, the Insurance Alliance of Michigan, said the Supreme Court decision will open the door to overcharging for medical care. The lower reimbursement schedule, however, remains intact for injuries since the law was overhauled.
In a dissent, Justice David Viviano said the Supreme Court majority crafted an opinion based on “vague and disputed concepts” to provide cover for those who simply believe it would be unfair to reduce future benefits for the long-term injured.
“As a result, the efforts of the Legislature and the governor to reduce costs and make insurance more affordable for all the residents of our state will not come to fruition for many decades,” said Viviano, who was joined by fellow Republican Justice Brian Zahra.
“If courts cannot be trusted to faithfully interpret and apply the laws, especially those involving such significant and contested topics, then the democratic process is in peril,” Viviano said.
___
Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez
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https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/business/ap-michigan-court-affirms-critical-benefits-for-thousands-badly-hurt-in-car-wrecks/
| 2023-07-31T20:23:22
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https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/business/ap-michigan-court-affirms-critical-benefits-for-thousands-badly-hurt-in-car-wrecks/
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By MEG KINNARD (Associated Press)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — With less than a month to go until the first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 campaign, seven candidates say they have met qualifications for a spot on stage in Milwaukee.
But that also means that about half the broad GOP field is running short on time to make the cut.
To qualify for the Aug. 23 debate, candidates needed to satisfy polling and donor requirements set by the Republican National Committee: at least 1% in three high-quality national polls or a mix of national and early-state polls, between July 1 and Aug. 21, and a minimum of 40,000 donors, with 200 in 20 or more states.
A look at who’s in, who’s (maybe) out and who’s still working on making it:
DONALD TRUMP
The current front-runner long ago satisfied the polling and donor thresholds. But he is considering boycotting and holding a competing event.
Campaign advisers have said the former president has not made a final decision about the debate. One noted that “it’s pretty clear,” based on Trump’s public and private statements, that he is unlikely to appear with the other candidates.
“If you’re leading by a lot, what’s the purpose of doing it?” Trump asked on Newsmax.
In the meantime, aides have discussed potential alternative programming if Trump opts for a rival event. One option Trump has floated is an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who now has a program on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
RON DESANTIS
The Florida governor has long been seen as Trump’s top rival, finishing a distant second to him in a series of polls in early-voting states, as well as national polls, and raising an impressive amount of money.
But DeSantis’ campaign has struggled in recent weeks to live up to the sky-high expectations that awaited him when he entered the race. He let go of more than one-third of his staff as federal filings showed his campaign was burning through cash at an unsustainable rate.
If Trump is absent, DeSantis may be the top target on stage at the debate.
TIM SCOTT
The South Carolina senator has been looking for a breakout moment. The first debate could be his chance.
A prolific fundraiser, Scott enters the summer with $21 million cash on hand.
In one debate-approved poll in Iowa, Scott joined Trump and DeSantis in reaching double digits. The senator has focused much of his campaign resources on the leadoff GOP voting state, which is dominated by white evangelical voters.
NIKKI HALEY
She has blitzed early-voting states with campaign events, walking crowds through her electoral successes ousting a longtime incumbent South Carolina lawmaker, then becoming the state’s first woman and first minority governor. Also serving as Trump’s U.N. ambassador for about two years, Haley frequently cites her international experience, arguing about the threat China poses to the United States.
The only woman in the GOP race, Haley has said transgender students competing in sports is “the women’s issue of our time” and has drawn praise from a leading anti-abortion group, which called her “uniquely gifted at communicating from a pro-life woman’s perspective.”
Bringing in $15.6 million since the start of her campaign, Haley’s campaign says she has “well over 40,000 unique donors” and has satisfied the debate polling requirements.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY
The biotech entrepreneur and author of “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam” is an audience favorite at multicandidate events and has polled well despite not being nationally known when he entered the race.
Ramaswamy’s campaign says he met the donor threshold earlier this year. He recently rolled out “Vivek’s Kitchen Cabinet” to boost his donor numbers even more, by letting fundraisers keep 10% of what they bring in for his campaign.
CHRIS CHRISTIE
The former New Jersey governor opened his campaign by portraying himself as the only candidate ready to take on Trump. Christie called on the former president to “show up at the debates and defend his record.”
Christie will be on that stage, even if Trump isn’t, telling CNN this month that he surpassed “40,000 unique donors in just 35 days.” He also has met the polling requirements.
DOUG BURGUM
Burgum, a wealthy former software entrepreneur now in his second term as North Dakota’s governor, has been using his fortune to boost his campaign.
He announced a program this month to give away $20 gift cards — “Biden Relief Cards,” as a critique of President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy — to as many as 50,000 people in exchange for $1 donations. Critics have questioned whether the offer violated campaign finance law.
Within about a week of launching that effort, Burgum announced he had surpassed the donor threshold. Ad blitzes in the early-voting states also helped him meet the polling requirements.
MIKE PENCE
Trump’s vice president has met the polling threshold but has yet to amass a sufficient number of donors, raising the possibility that he might not qualify for the party’s first debate.
Pence and his advisers have expressed confidence he will do so, noting that most other Republican hopefuls took a month or two of being active candidates to meet the mark. Pence entered the race on June 7, the same day as Burgum and one day after Christie.
“We’re making incredible progress toward that goal. We’re not there yet,” Pence told CNN in a recent interview. “We will make it. I will see you at that debate stage.”
ASA HUTCHINSON
According to his campaign, the former two-term Arkansas governor has met the polling requirements but is working on satisfying the donor threshold. As of Wednesday, Hutchinson marked more than 11,000 unique donors.
Hutchinson is running in the mold of an old-school Republican and has differentiated himself from many of his GOP rivals in his willingness to criticize Trump. He has posted pleas on Twitter for $1 donations to help secure his slot.
FRANCIS SUAREZ
The Miami mayor has been one of the more creative candidates in his efforts to boost his donor numbers. He offered up a chance to see Argentine soccer legend Lionel Messi’s debut as a player for Inter Miami, saying donors who gave $1 would be entered in a chance to get front-row tickets.
Still shy of the donor threshold, he took a page from Burgum’s playbook by offering a $20 “Bidenomics Relief Card” in return for $1 donations. A super political action committee supporting Suarez launched a sweepstakes for a chance at up to $15,000 in tuition, in exchange for a $1 donation to Suarez’s campaign.
Suarez’s campaign did not return a message seeking details on his number of donors or qualifying polls.
LARRY ELDER
The conservative radio host wrote in an op-ed that the RNC “has rigged the rules of the game by instituting a set of criteria that is so onerous and poorly designed that only establishment-backed and billionaire candidates are guaranteed to be on stage.”
His campaign last week declined to detail its number of donors, saying only that there had been “a strong increase the last few weeks.” He has not met the polling requirements.
PERRY JOHNSON
Johnson, a wealthy but largely unknown businessman from Michigan, said in a recent social media post that he had notched 23,000 donors and was “confident” he would make the debate stage. He added that all donors were “eligible to attend my free concert in Iowa featuring” country duo Big & Rich next month.
Johnson, who has reached 1% in one qualifying poll, has also offered to give copies of his book “Two Cents to Save America” to anyone who donated to his campaign.
WILL HURD
The former Texas congressman — the last candidate to enter the race, on June 22 — has said repeatedly that he would not pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee, a stance that would keep him off the stage even if he had the qualifying donor and polling numbers.
___
Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP
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https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/30/whos-in-whos-out-a-look-at-which-candidates-have-qualified-for-the-1st-gop-presidential-debate/
| 2023-07-31T20:23:24
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — A KXAN viewer said she saw baby foxes, also known as kits, playing on a trampoline in her garden Sunday in the north Austin, Texas, area.
That was only a couple of weeks after another viewer said she saw a family of foxes playing on the St. Edward’s University campus in Austin.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, it’s not unusual to see foxes in cities and towns, where food sources are easily found, including in your garbage.
While foxes live around the world in many different types of habitats, according to the Texas Wildlife Association, including the Arctic, the desert and even in trees, some foxes have also adapted to life in such urban environments as neighborhoods.
“Next time you are outside in a park, remember to look up, because if you are lucky, you might see a fox up in the trees,” TWA said.
TWA said three types of foxes live in Texas, including the swift fox, the red fox and the gray fox.
The swift, or kit fox, lives in the northwestern part of the state, the red fox inhabits the eastern and central parts, and the gray fox, the most common variety, can be found statewide, the TWA said.
The Humane Society said foxes are scared of people and are not typically dangerous except when they are rabid, which the society says is rare.
“Even then, a fox’s natural tendency is to flee rather than fight,” the Human Society stated.
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https://cbs4indy.com/news/national-world/video-foxes-seen-playing-on-trampoline-in-texas/
| 2023-07-31T20:23:29
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BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Two pipeline operators have agreed to pay a $12.5 million civil penalty related to crude oil spills in Montana and North Dakota.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced the settlement in a 2022 federal court lawsuit. Belle Fourche Pipeline Company and Bridger Pipeline LLC will pay the $12.5 million to resolve the claims made under the Clean Water Act and Pipeline Safety Laws, EPA said. The affiliated companies own and operate oil pipelines in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.
In 2015, Bridger’s Poplar Pipeline broke and spilled more than 50,000 gallons (about 190,000 liters) of crude into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana. Bridger has completed cleanup of the site, and in 2021 settled a lawsuit with federal and Montana authorities for $2 million.
In 2016, Belle Fourche’s Bicentennial Pipeline in Billings County, North Dakota, broke due to a landslide and spilled over 600,000 gallons (about 2.3 million liters) of oil, impacting an unnamed tributary, Ash Coulee Creek and the Little Missouri River. Belle Fourche’s cleanup is ongoing with oversight from North Dakota’s Department of Environmental Quality, according to EPA.
Belle Fourche also will pay the state’s past response costs, totaling over $98,000, according to court documents filed Monday.
“Oil pipeline spills can cause enormous and long-lasting damage to the environment,” Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said in a statement. “This settlement holds Belle Fourche and Bridger Pipeline accountable for their significant oil spills and requires them to take meaningful measures to prevent future spills from their oil pipelines.”
The operators also are required to implement specified compliance measures, in addition to the civil penalty.
Belle Fourche and Bridger are owned by Wyoming-based True Companies, whose spokesman, when reached by email, did not have an immediate comment on the agreement.
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https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/business/ap-pipeline-operators-to-pay-12-5m-after-spills-in-montana-north-dakota/
| 2023-07-31T20:23:29
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August is an exciting month for moon lovers, with the summer month opening and closing with a supermoon. The Full Sturgeon Moon rises on Tuesday, Aug. 1, and then the month closes out with the Full Blue Moon on Aug. 30. In both cases, the moon will be at the closest point in it’s orbit around the Earth. Since the moon will be closer, it will appear larger and brighter than usual.
This will be a great week to go to the Indiana State Fair or go to Colts Camp. We’ll have sunny skies, warm temperatures and low humidity for Tuesday. High pressure over the Great Lakes will keep the region rain-free through midweek. However, scattered storms will creep back into Indiana by Wednesday night as a storm system clips our southwestern counties. Most of the rainfall will stay south of us and rain chances will be low for much of the workweek.
While the weather be comfortable early this week, but you will want to prepare for high heat again by the end of the week. Temperatures are going to gradually rise and eventually peak into the lower 90s. Humidity levels will climb to tropical levels too, which will make the heat more uncomfortable heading into next weekend.
So far this year we’ve had 17 wet weekends, and 12 dry weekends. Another storm system will travel across the Great Lakes region this weekend, and will bring our a greater chance for showers and storms for central Indiana.
We are wrapping up the month of July with more than six inches of rainfall in Indianapolis. The city will end the month with a surplus of rainfall (+1.64”), which did help improve the drought conditions that formed late May into June. However, 75% of the state of Indiana is still considered “abnormally dry” with 25% of the state under a “moderate drought.” The 30-day outlook for August is calling for near average temperatures and above average precipitation, so it looks our mild, wet summer trend will continue.
July was wet, mild month.
Tuesday will be a sunny, warm day.
August is forecast to be a wet, mild month.
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https://cbs4indy.com/news/the-week-starts-with-low-humidity-the-first-of-augusts-two-supermoons-is-visible-tonight/
| 2023-07-31T20:23:35
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https://cbs4indy.com/news/the-week-starts-with-low-humidity-the-first-of-augusts-two-supermoons-is-visible-tonight/
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NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is closing out its latest winning month with another lift. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Monday to cap its fifth straight month of gains. It’s at a 16-month high after rallying on hopes cooling inflation will mean the economy can avoid a long-predicted recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 100 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite finished 0.2% higher. Critics have said the rally has come too quickly. Several reports this week could back them up, including updates on the job market and profits at the market’s most influential companies.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting Monday as Wall Street rolls toward the end of another winning month.
The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged in afternoon trading, on track for a fifth straight month of gains, which would be its longest winning streak in nearly two years. The index is near a 16-month high after rallying on hopes cooling inflation will mean the economy can avoid a long-predicted recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 45 points, or 0.1%, at 35,506 as of 1:43 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.
To be sure, critics have been saying Wall Street’s seemingly growing consensus for a soft landing for the economy has come too quickly. Several reports this upcoming week could poke holes in the theory that inflation will keep coming down enough for the Federal Reserve to not only stop hiking interest rates but to begin cutting them by early next year.
Big names in the market, such as Rob Arnott at Research Affiliates, are warning not to be “overly hasty in popping the champagne corks.” Arnott sees the possibility of inflation rebounding again later this year, even though it’s cooled considerably recently.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell himself has pointed to Friday’s upcoming report on the overall U.S. job market as an important datapoint. Growth needs to be strong enough to keep a lid on worries about a possible recession. But a reading that’s too hot could also mean upward pressure on inflation, which could push the Fed to get more aggressive about rates.
High rates undercut inflation by slowing the overall economy and dragging on prices for stocks and other investments. The Fed has already hiked its main rate to its highest level in more than two decades, a jolting shock after the rate began last year at virtually zero.
Two of Wall Street’s most influential stocks are also set to report their earnings for the spring. Amazon and Apple are both scheduled to release their latest quarterly results on Thursday. Because they’re two of the most massive stocks on Wall Street, their stock movements pack much more punch for the S&P 500 and other indexes than other stocks.
Both stocks have soared this year, in part on expectations for strong continued growth, and they’ll need to deliver to justify the big moves. Both Apple and Amazon are up more than 50% so far this year.
Roughly halfway through the earnings reporting season, more companies than usual have topped analysts’ profit expectations, according to FactSet. Companies also seem to be more optimistic about their upcoming results, giving better-than-expected profit forecasts more often than usual, according to strategists at Bank of America.
“While economic uncertainty remains, we believe the profit cycle is inflecting higher,” the strategists wrote in a BofA Global Research report.
ON Semiconductor rose 3% for one of the larger gains in the S&P 500 after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected. The company, known as onsemi, also gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that topped analysts’ expectations.
On the losing end was Tempur Sealy International. The mattress company said it discovered a cybersecurity event last week, which pushed it to shut down some of its technology systems. It has resumed operations after what it called a temporary interruption and is working to determine the incident’s full impact. Its stock fell 4%.
In stock markets abroad, indexes in Europe were a bit higher higher after data showed Europe’s economy has grown modestly after months of stagnation.
In Asia, stocks rose in Hong Kong and Shanghai amid hopes Beijing will deliver more stimulus for the sluggish Chinese economy.
In the bond market, U.S. Treasury yields slipped after a report suggested manufacturing in the Chicago region is weakening a bit more than economists expected. Manufacturing has been one of the hardest-hit areas in the economy by high interest rates, which work with a notoriously long lag effect.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 3.94% from 3.96% late Friday.
___
AP Business Writers Matt Ott, Elaine Kurtenbach and Joe McDonald contributed.
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| 2023-07-31T20:23:35
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WESTFIELD, Ind. – The Indianapolis Colts will give “Kids Day” another shot.
Friday’s practice at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield was supposed to celebrate the special day, but a round of severe weather during the morning forced the team to move practice inside.
As a result, many of the thousands of fans expected for Friday’s session couldn’t attend practice, which moved indoors to the Events Center, a smaller venue capable of seating about 750 fans. The weather also forced the team to close Colts City for the day.
The Colts moved Kids Day to Monday, July 31. Practice is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.; free tickets are available at the Colts’ website. The team said tickets to July 28’s practice will not be accepted; fans need to claim new ones for Monday’s session.
While tickets remain for several training camp practices, the following four dates are sold out:
- Sat. Aug. 5 – 6 p.m.
- Sun., Aug. 6 – 2 p.m. (“Give Back Sunday,” presented by Meijer)
- Wed., Aug. 16 – 6 p.m. (Joint Practice No. 1 with the Chicago Bears)
- Thurs., Aug. 17 – 6 p.m. (Joint Practice No. 2 with the Chicago Bears; Thirsty Thursday)
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https://cbs4indy.com/sports/colts/indianapolis-colts-to-host-rescheduled-kids-day-at-training-camp/
| 2023-07-31T20:23:41
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https://cbs4indy.com/sports/colts/indianapolis-colts-to-host-rescheduled-kids-day-at-training-camp/
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NEW YORK (AP) — Troubled trucking company Yellow Corp. is shutting down and headed for a bankruptcy, the Teamsters said Monday.
An official bankruptcy filing is expected any day for Yellow, after years of financial struggles and growing debt. Its expected liquidation would mark a significant shift for the U.S. transportation industry and shippers nationwide.
“Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry.”
Yellow did not have a comment when reached by The Associated Press Monday. As of Monday afternoon, no bankruptcy filings from the company could be found on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website, but the union confirmed that it had been served legal notice.
The company’s collapse arrives just three years after Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., received $700 million in pandemic-era loans from the federal government. But the company was in financial trouble long before that — with industry analysts pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back decades.
Former Yellow customers and shippers will face higher prices as they take their business to competitors, including FedEx or ABF Freight, experts say — noting that Yellow historically offered the cheapest price points in the industry.
Yellow is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The closure of the 99-year-old Nashville, Tennessee-based company risks a loss of 30,000 jobs.
Safety vests that appeared to belong to former Yellow workers were zip-tied to the fence of a closed YRC Freight terminal in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday. Names and years worked at the company were written on them.
“Ron Fisher 2017-2023 was here,” one vest read.
Reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week — as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers, per The Wall Street Journal and FreightWaves. And the company reportedly stopped freight pickups earlier in the week.
Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to The Journal, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday.
The bankruptcy preparation reports arrived just days after Yellow averted a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, amid heated contract negotiations. On July 23, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, avoiding a planned walkout. The fund gave Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund earlier in the month.
Yellow has racked up hefty bills over the years. As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.
In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”
The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.
The current financial chaos at Yellow “is probably two decades in the making,” said Stifel research director Bruce Chan, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”
A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow was burning daily amounts of $9 million to $10 million in recent days.
Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022 according to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting. On Friday, he estimated that number was down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.
Yellow’s prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money,” he added. “And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”
—-
AP Business Writer Matt Ott contributed to this report.
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| 2023-07-31T20:23:42
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https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/business/ap-teamsters-say-yellow-corp-is-ceasing-operations-filing-for-bankruptcy/
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SOUTH BEND, IN — Once again, Notre Dame is going to be donning their most famous alternate jersey, doing so with a design that’s both new and old.
The Fighting Irish will do so during arguably their biggest home game of the upcoming 2023 season.
On Monday morning, the school unveiled the green jerseys that they’ll wear during their game against Ohio State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, September 23 at 6:30 p.m. central time.
In a creative twist to the announcement, Notre Dame’s media productions created a spoof of the “Jerry Maguire” movie featuring head coach Marcus Freeman, running back Audric Estime, and quarterback Sam Hartman.
This marks the second-straight year that the Irish have worn the green jerseys, having done so against California last September. This year, they’re replaced blue numerals on the jerseys with white and gone away from the gold pants in favor of green. Players will also have green gloves along with green cleats.
Notre Dame will wear the uniforms on what is a very rare day for the program since they are facing Ohio State for just the seventh time in program history and the fifth in the regular season. It’s the Buckeyes’ first visit to South Bend since 1996 and just the third game between the teams at Notre Dame Stadium.
The other was in 1936 – a 7-2 Irish win over Ohio State on Halloween.
Green jerseys have been worn both as a primary and alternate jersey during a number of points in the storied program’s history. Traditionally, they are brought out for major games for the team at home, neutral site contests, or bowl games.
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https://cbs4indy.com/sports/notre-dame-unveils-latest-football-green-jersey-design/
| 2023-07-31T20:23:47
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NEW YORK (AP) — Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports.
After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week — as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to the Wall Street Journal, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday.
In an announcement early Monday, the Teamsters said that the union received legal notice confirming Yellow was ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy.
“Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government,” Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry.”
The Associated Press reached out to Yellow for comment on Monday. No bankruptcy filings had gone live as of the early morning.
The bankruptcy reports have renewed attention around Yellow’s ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The company’s reported closure puts 30,000 jobs at risk.
Here’s what you need to know.
According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. Last week, he estimated that number was down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.
With customers leaving — as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups last week — bankruptcy would “be the end of Yellow,” Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.
“The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day,” added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.
Yellow declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to The Journal, the company said it was continuing “to prepare for a range of contingencies.” On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.
Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would “not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis,” Chan said. “Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.”
As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.
In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”
The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.
Yellow’s current finances and prospect of bankruptcy “is probably two decades in the making,” Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”
In May, Yellow reported a loss of $54.6 million, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.
A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added — estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.
“It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment,” Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.
Last week’s reports of bankruptcy preparations arrived just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.
A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was “unjustifiably blocking” restructuring plans needed for the company’s survival. The Teamsters called the litigation “baseless” — with O’Brien pointing to Yellow’s “decades of gross mismanagement,” which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.
On July 23, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike — and giving Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didn’t occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.
“The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts,” Jindel said, pointing to management’s responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are “lower than any competitor.”
As Yellow customers take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.
Yellow’s prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money,” he added. “And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”
Chan adds that we’re in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace — noting that, if Yellow liquidates, “the freight would find a home” with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.
“It may take time, but there’s room for it to be absorbed,” he said.
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https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/business/ap-yellow-is-shutting-down-and-headed-for-bankruptcy-the-teamsters-union-says-heres-what-to-know/
| 2023-07-31T20:23:48
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CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian army helicopter that crashed Friday during a multinational exercise hit the water with a “catastrophic impact” and there is no chance its four crew members survived, officials said Monday.
Australia’s fleet of more than 40 of the MRH-90 Taipan helicopters, made by French Airbus, has been grounded since the crash and there are doubts any will fly again.
They will be grounded until crash investigators determine what caused the tragedy. The government announced in January it plans to replace them with 40 U.S. Black Hawks. The Taipans’ retirement date of December 2024 would be 13 years earlier than Australia had initially planned.
Defense Minister Richard Marles said the search and rescue effort changed Monday to a victim recovery operation with no chance that Capt. Danniel Lyon, Lt. Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Joseph Laycock or Cpl. Alexander Naggs had survived.
“There was a catastrophic incident and with every passing hour, it is now clear that any hope of finding (the four crew) alive has been lost,” Marles told reporters.
The helicopter crashed during a nighttime exercise with the United States and other nations near the Whitsunday Islands on the Great Barrier Reef.
Marles had said on Saturday the helicopter “ditched,” which refers to an emergency landing. But on Monday he would not rule our pilot error or disorientation in the dark causing the crash into the water. He urged against speculation about potential causes.
“There was a catastrophic impact on the helicopter when it hit the water,” Marles said.
“We will move through the process of putting the Black Hawks into service as quickly as we can … and we will not be flying MRH90s until we understand what has happened,” Marles added.
The lost Taipan had been taking part in Talisman Sabre, a biennial U.S.-Australian military exercise that is largely based in Queensland state. This year’s exercise involves 13 nations and more than 30,000 military personnel.
The exercise was continuing on Monday with some changes near the recovery operation, Australian Defense Force Chief Gen. Angus Campbell said.
Campbell thanked the United States and Canada for their help in the search and recovery efforts, which he said was “not an easy operation.”
The wreckage lay in the path of strong currents and tidal movements. It was too deep for standard diving operations.
Part of the airframe had been retrieved by Monday but most of the helicopter remained on the seabed, Campbell said.
It was the second emergency involving an Australian Taipan since March. The fleet was grounded after one ditched into the sea off the New South Wales state coast near the naval base at Jervis Bay during a nighttime counterterrorism training exercise. All 10 passengers and crew members were rescued.
Retired Maj. Gen. Fergus McLachlan was involved in integrating the Taipan into the Australian army when they arrived in 2007 and had been responsible for keeping them airworthy. He said the Taipan did not have the proven record of the Lockheed Martin-designed Black Hawks.
“We bought into an unproven system. In real terms, it was a developmental aircraft and it has never really matured,” McLachlan told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“It was always a battle to maintain it and keep it flying,” McLachlan added.
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https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/international/ap-4-crew-members-on-australian-army-helicopter-that-crashed-off-coast-didnt-survive-officials-say/
| 2023-07-31T20:23:56
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Ford is working on a mid-cycle update for its current F-150, and it will be unveiled in September at the 2023 Detroit auto show.
The information was revealed by Ford CEO Jim Farley last week during a press conference for the company’s second quarter earnings results, according to Automotive News (subscription required).
The updated F-150 will likely arrive as a 2024 model. The current F-150 arrived for 2021, and the update will likely be the only notable improvements until the arrival of a next-generation model, likely for the 2027 model year.
Prototypes for the updated F-150 have been spotted. Camouflage gear on the test vehicles points to new designs for the lights at both ends, a revised grille, and possibly a multi-function tailgate. A revised dash with a portrait-oriented infotainment screen is also thought to be coming.
Updated versions of the F-150 Raptor and F-150 Raptor R should also be coming, though timing for the high-performance variants isn’t clear.
Ford may also place more focus on the hybrid F-150 this time around. Speaking during the conference, Farley said Ford has been “surprised” by the popularity of the hybrid F-150. He said more than 10% of F-150 buyers opt for the powertrain, which pairs a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 with a single electric motor for a combined 430 hp.
The updated F-150 is thought to be one of six debuts planned by the Detroit 3 automakers for this year’s Detroit auto show. Organizers have said double the number of brands will participate compared to last year.
The show runs Sept. 13-24 and will include new attractions, including a track dedicated to electric vehicles and other outdoor events. The bulk of the action will still take place at Detroit’s Huntington Place (previously the TCF Center; before that, Cobo), which has held the show since 1965.
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- Review: 2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost distills the pony-car essence
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https://www.cbs42.com/automotive/internet-brands/2024-ford-f-150-set-for-2023-detroit-auto-show-debut/
| 2023-07-31T20:24:04
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WASHINGTON – Federal officials said Monday they are investigating a recent close call between an Allegiant Air plane and a private jet in which pilots of both aircraft received collision-threat warnings and took evasive action.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the incident happened July 23 near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida. It’s the latest in a series of close calls that led the FAA to convene a special safety summit earlier this year.
The FAA said an air traffic controller in Miami told the crew of Allegiant flight 485 that had taken off from Fort Lauderdale to turn east at 23,000 feet, and it crossed in front of a Gulfstream business jet that was heading north.
Pilots of the Allegiant Airbus A320 took evasive action after getting an automated alert about another aircraft at the same altitude. The pilot of the Gulfstream jet got a similar warning and also took evasive action.
The Allegiant plane returned to the Fort Lauderdale airport, and a flight attendant was treated for injuries, the FAA said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that it was gathering information about the incident before deciding whether to open an investigation.
The FAA and NTSB are investigating about a half-dozen incidents this year in which planes came closer together than they should. In many cases, one or both planes were still on the ground.
The closest occurred in February, when a FedEx cargo plane coming in to land passed over the top of a Southwest Airlines that had been cleared to take off from the same runway. The head of the NTSB said the planes came within about 100 feet of each other.
The number of close calls in rapid succession led the then-acting administrator of the FAA to convene a “safety summit” in March. The official, who has since left the FAA, defended the nation’s safety record, but he called for more data about the incidents and cautioned everyone in aviation to pay more attention to safety procedures.
The last fatal crash involving a U.S. airline was in 2009.
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VATICAN CITY (AP) — When Pope Francis made the first foreign trip of his papacy, to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day in 2013, he urged young people to make a “mess” in their local churches, to shake things up even if it ruffled the feathers of their bishops.
As he embarks this week on another edition of World Youth Day, in Lisbon, Portugal, Francis in many ways has taken his own advice to heart. After 10 years as pope, Francis is accelerating his reform agenda and making revolutionary changes in personnel and policy that are definitely shaking things up.
Unencumbered by the shadow of Pope Benedict XVI, who died seven months ago, and despite recovering from a second intestinal surgery in as many years, the 86-year-old Francis is opening a frenetic second half of the year with his Portugal visit. He seems aware that he has a limited sweet spot of time to solidify the changes he believes are necessary for the 21st century church, and is looking to the next generation of faithful and leaders to execute them.
“The sense I get is that this is the consolidation phase of the pontificate,” said papal biographer Austen Ivereigh. “He’s laying the basis now, laying the ground, for the future.”
And no better place to put it on display than at a World Youth Day. The international rally, which St. John Paul II launched in 1986 to galvanize young Catholics in their faith, is expected to draw up to 1 million people for the first post-pandemic event of its kind. Francis’ perennial social justice concerns about climate change, social inequality and fraternity, as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine, are expected to be major themes.
Beyond Portugal, though, Francis’ multifold strategy for laying the groundwork for the future is coming together and will hit significant marks in the coming months.
His global canvassing of rank-and-file Catholics about their vision for the future comes to fruition this October with a big synod at the Vatican. The meeting is intended to give direction on such hot-button issues as the place of LGBTQ+ Catholics and women in the church, and for the first time will feature women and young people voting on proposals alongside bishops.
“I really think that for Pope Francis, he felt that ‘OK, now it’s mature’ and it would be good really to involve all the members, all the people in the synod as members” with the right to vote, said Sister Nathalie Becquart, who is one of the key synod organizers.
To then implement the vision that emerges from the synod, Francis has been naming a slew of unusually young bishops for key archdioceses — in his native Buenos Aires, Madrid and Brussels, among others. At the same time, he’s elevated several cardinals in their 50s — and in some cases their 40s — including the auxiliary bishop of Lisbon who is organizing World Youth Day.
Putting such young clerics in such important positions ensures a generation’s worth of likeminded leadership in the Vatican and archdioceses around the world. While not all are cookie-cutter proteges of Francis, many are seen as similarly pastorally minded and thus more game to implement his reforms, especially as the older generation of bishops and cardinals dies out.
After Francis is gone, the youngest of these new cardinals will have some three decades’ worth of local leadership and conclave votes to select future popes, suggesting a generational and ideological shift in the church leadership is very much underway.
Francis’ most important young “legacy” appointment was that of the Vatican’s new doctrinal czar, Argentine Cardinal-elect Victor Manuel Fernandez, 61. Francis’ theological ghostwriter ran into Vatican problems in the past over questions about his doctrinal orthodoxy, and his appointment sent shockwaves through the conservative and traditionalist wings of the church.
Fernandez sees his appointment as part of Francis’ longer-term agenda. “He is proposing a more inclusive church, more respectful of different ways of living, even of thinking,” Fernandez said in an interview.
Portuguese Cardinal-elect Americo Aguiar, who is in charge of World Youth Day, is another young churchman who also understands his appointment as part of a generational turning point for the Catholic hierarchy.
At age 49 he will become the second-youngest member of the College of Cardinals when he is installed Sept. 30. He is just six months older than the current youngest cardinal, whom Francis elevated this time last year: Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, head of the church in Mongolia where Francis will travel at the end of August.
“My reading of it is that this has to do with young people, it has to do with youth, it has to do with Portugal, it has to do with World Youth Day, it has to do with all of that,” Aguiar said in an interview. “I think that his objective and his underlining was exactly to send a signal to the young people, to every young person who is preparing the day, whether in Portugal or in the world, to feel identified with this decision.”
Francis said as much in his monthly prayer intentions for August, this time dedicated to the Lisbon event.
“In Lisbon, I would like to see a seed for the world’s future,” Francis said. “A world where love is at the center, where we can sense that we are sisters and brothers.”
His wish in many ways echoed his words at the 2013 World Youth Day in Rio, which now seem prescient in outlining many of the key pastoral messages Francis has emphasized over the past decade. Delivering a spontaneous, off-the-cuff exhortation to a gathering of Argentine pilgrims that was organized at the last minute, Francis urged the young to get out into the streets, spread their faith and “make a mess.”
“I want to see the church get closer to the people,” Francis said then, speaking in his native Spanish. “I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off within ourselves, in our parishes, schools or structures.”
Realizing the radical nature of his message, Francis apologized to the bishops for what was about to come, even though in the 10 years since, he has only gone further than anyone could have imagined at the time.
“The true reform of the church, you know, is not a revolution bringing something completely from outside,” said Becquart, the French nun, as she reflected on Francis’ agenda. “It’s a path of change that is a way to unfold tradition, but in a very dynamic way.”
___
AP reporters Helena Alvez in Lisbon, Portugal, and Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires contributed.
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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Audi will equip its upcoming Q6 E-Tron with lights whose pattern changes depending on the situation or wishes of the owner, the automaker announced on Monday.
The electric compact crossover, which has been plagued by software development issues that have held back its launch by more than a year, will feature Audi’s second-generation OLEDs for the headlights and taillights, a technology the automaker said will enable the lights to act as intelligent displays that can communicate information to onlookers.
An example is what Audi refers to as a communication light that will feature in the taillights of the Q6 E-Tron. It will be able to warn other road users of accidents or breakdowns using cloud-based traffic information and the display of specific light signatures. It’s similar to a system Audi already launched in the headlights of the A8 flagship sedan in 2022.
Audi said the communication light could also be used to notify other road users for emergency assist, an imminent rear-end collision, emergency or roadside assistance calls, and more. Another application could be to warn approaching vehicles or cyclists that a door is about to be opened.
Another situation is using a specific light signature for when the Q6 E-Tron’s automated park assist feature is in operation. Of course, there is no accepted meaning for different light signatures, so the information the lights impart would be up to the interpretation of the onlookers.
Audi said Q6 E-Tron owners will also be able to change the light signatures for the daytime running lights for both the headlights and taillights. Owners will be able to install this feature on demand via the infotainment system or Audi app. Audi will offer multiple patterns to choose from, including some that feature an additional coming or leaving home sequence.
The lighting functions are controlled by a software module developed jointly by Audi and Volkswagen Group’s Cariad software development division.
The Q6 E-Tron is being developed alongside a related electric Porsche Macan. The Q6 E-Tron is set to debut later this year while the electric Macan will arrive in early 2024. Both models will use VW Group’s PPE platform for high-volume premium electric vehicles.
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| 2023-07-31T20:24:10
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OVIEDO, Fla. – Jeff’s Bagel Run is pushing ahead with its aggressive Central Florida expansion, announcing plans to open another location — this time in Oviedo.
The company announced the opening on social media Monday.
The Oviedo location is set to open up at 1351 Alafaya Trail Suite 1013, the Alafaya Square Publix shopping center.
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The new, 1,200-square-foot location will be the sixth storefront overall for the burgeoning bagel business.
Jeff and Danielle Perera opened their bagel business out of their home kitchen in 2020. They are now hoping to have eight brick-and-mortar locations open within the next six months.
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The rapid expansion is being made possible by the couple’s new business partner, Justin Wetherill.
Wetherill is the owner of 1337 Capital and the co-founder of the uBreakiFix chain of mobile device repair shops.
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The company has previously announced locations opening in Celebration, O-Town West and Winter Park. It currently has two locations open in Ocoee and College Park.
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| 2023-07-31T20:24:10
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BEIJING (AP) — China imposed restrictions Monday on exports of long-range civilian drones, citing Russia’s war in Ukraine and concern that drones might be converted to military use.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government is friendly with Moscow but says it is neutral in the 17-month-old war. It has been stung by reports that both sides might be using Chinese-made drones for reconnaissance and possibly attacks.
Export controls will take effect Tuesday to prevent use of drones for “non-peaceful purposes,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. It said some drone exports still will be allowed.
China is a leading developer and exporter of drones. DJI Technology Co., one of the global industry’s top competitors, announced in April 2022 it was pulling out of Russia and Ukraine to prevent its drones from being used in combat.
“The risk of some high specification and high-performance civilian unmanned aerial vehicles being converted to military use is constantly increasing,” the Ministry of Commerce said.
Restrictions will apply to drones that can fly beyond the natural sight distance of operators or stay aloft more than 30 minutes, have attachments that can throw objects and weigh more than 7 kilograms (15½ pounds), according to the ministry.
“Since the crisis in Ukraine, some Chinese civilian drone companies have voluntarily suspended their operations in conflict areas,” the Ministry of Commerce said. It accused the United States and Western media of spreading “false information” about Chinese drone exports.
The government on Friday defended its dealings with Russia as “normal economic and trade cooperation” after a U.S. intelligence report said Beijing possibly provided equipment used in Ukraine that might have military applications.
The report cited Russian customs data that showed Chinese state-owned military contractors supplied drones, navigation equipment, fighter jet parts and other goods.
The Biden administration has warned Beijing of unspecified consequences if it supports the Kremlin’s war effort. Last week’s report didn’t say whether any of the trade cited might trigger U.S. retaliation.
Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared before the February 2022 invasion that their governments had a “no-limits” friendship. Beijing has blocked efforts to censure Moscow in the United Nations and has repeated Russian justifications for the attack.
China has “always opposed the use of civilian drones for military purposes,” the Ministry of Commerce said. “The moderate expansion of drone control by China this time is an important measure to demonstrate the responsibility of a responsible major country.”
The Ukrainian government appealed to DJI in March 2022 to stop selling drones it said the Russian ministry was using to target missile attacks. DJI rejected claims it leaked data on Ukraine’s military positions to Russia.
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| 2023-07-31T20:24:11
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Ford announced a recall of the 2021-2023 Ford F-150 pickup truck for an unexpected engagement of the electric parking brake while driving, the NHTSA disclosed Monday.
The recall encompasses 870,701 trucks with a single exhaust system. Redesigned in 2021, most of this generation’s F-150 models have a single exhaust system from the factory, with dual pipes limited to special appearance packages and performance models such as the Tremor and Raptor.
The issue arises from bad wiring on the electric parking brake. Over time, the rear axle wiring harness bundle can rub against the rear axle housing, causing the tape and circuit insulation to degrade and expose the wiring. If this happens, the electric parking brake can be activated while driving, causing an apparent loss of power as well as an unintended braking event. This increases the risk of a crash.
Ford says drivers may be alerted to the problem via a parking brake warning light and message in the instrument cluster. Ford acknowledged 918 warranty claims in North America, with 299 instances of unintended activation and 19 instances of the parking brake activating while driving. No known injuries or crashes were reported by Ford.
Owners will be notified by mail by Sept. 15, and will be asked to have their F-150s inspected by a Ford or Lincoln service center. If there’s damage, the wiring harness will be replaced. If there’s no apparent damage, Ford will add some tape and a tie strap to the harness. There will be no charge to owners. Reimbursement will be provided for owners who have already had the repairs down, and that reimbursement period will be open for a year, ending on Sept. 11, 2024.
This is the 16th recall for the 2021 F-150. Other notable issues include a problem with the windshield wipers and a potential fractured driveshaft. A refreshed 2024 Ford F-150 is planned to debut at the Detroit auto show in mid-September.
For more info, contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 or visit Ford’s recall site here.
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ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Ahead of school starting next week in Orange County, school board members will come together Tuesday evening to discuss the code of conduct, including the final wording of things like the cellphone policy.
Parents will be allowed to weigh in at the public hearing.
Orange County School board member Karen Castor Dentel said the school board is set to finalize a new cellphone policy at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
The policy currently says students can have cellphones, but they must be silenced and concealed — and they can’t be used during the school day.
Dentel said they will vote on a new cellphone policy for the entire district.
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“We are going to require students to put their phones away when they come to school, either in their backpack or in a purse, and we’re still deciding whether to allow students to put it in a pocket,” Dentel said. “I prefer that they don’t have it in a pocket because it’s too accessible. They can feel it when it’s buzzing. It’s distracting.”
She said there’s also the topic of other wireless devices like smartwatches.
“There’s also the issue of a smartwatch, which I don’t find as distracting, so I don’t think we need to restrict the use of the watches,” Dentel said.
News 6 attended a workshop earlier this month where school board members discussed the topic.
“Pocket, to me, is an option for a student that doesn’t have a backpack,” Superintendent Dr Maria Vasquez said.
“It’s good to have it as an emergency or if they have to contact their parents, but I think it could be a distraction as well,” said parent Reyna Katsiros.
Shadreka Davis agreed and told News 6 that as a single mother, she likes the comfort of being able to communicate with her daughter in case of an emergency, but it shouldn’t be so accessible.
“Not in their pockets, but at least the bookbags. I don’t think she should have it on her because it’s also a distraction,” Davis said.
School board member Karen Castor Dentel said she’s heard from teachers who want a consistent cellphone policy. There will also be discussions about consequences for students who go against the cellphone policy.
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| 2023-07-31T20:24:17
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NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A Cyprus court on Monday sentenced a British man who killed his ailing wife in their retirement home to two years in prison, rejecting a defense request to hand down a suspended sentence after convicting him earlier of manslaughter.
State prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou said the three-judge bench imposed the prison term as a “deterrent,” although the judges had earlier ruled that David Hunter’s decision to suffocate his wife Janice in December 2021 was made on the spur of the moment because he could no longer stand seeing her weeping in pain.
Hadjikyrou told The Associated Press the court took into account that Hunter, 76, acted “out of love” to save his wife, who was suffering from a blood ailment when he closed her mouth and nose with his hands as she sat in a recliner in their Paphos home.
It also took into consideration Hunter’s advanced age and that he had no previous criminal record.
Justice Abroad, a group that defends Britons facing legal troubles in foreign countries, said in a statement that Hunter could be released by Aug. 18 after already having spent more than 18 months in custody.
“This has been a tragic case and difficult for all of those involved with it, but today’s decision was the right one and allows David and his family to grieve together,” said Michael Polak from Justice Abroad.
Hunter had faced a charge of premeditated murder, but the court found in its July 21 ruling that the prosecution didn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was premeditation in his actions.
The court had accepted witness testimony that Janice feared her blood ailment would develop into full-blown leukemia and had repeatedly pleaded with her husband to take her life because she didn’t want to share the fate of her sister, who died of the disease.
Hunter attempted to take his own life by consuming a large amount of pills after suffocating his wife, but medical staff saved his life.
The court cited expert testimony that Janice Hunter suffered from myelodysplastic syndrome, a type of blood cancer which “to a large degree” — as much as 45% — could turn into leukemia, although there was no proof that she had indeed developed the disease because no definitive tests were conducted.
But the court said both husband and wife believed that Janice would develop it because of her sister’s fate.
David Hunter’s earlier assurances to Janice that he would help her fulfill her wish to end her life and not suffer anymore didn’t indicate any premeditation, the court said.
Hadjikyrou said defense lawyers had rejected a plea deal in December 2022 for the defendant to plead guilty to manslaughter because they insisted the facts of the case include an agreement Hunter and his wife allegedly made for him to take her life.
The state prosecutor said the court didn’t accept that such an agreement had indeed been made. He said the Cyprus attorney-general has 10 days to decide whether to appeal the sentence.
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Mazda on Friday afternoon revealed that its MX-30 lineup will not be returning for U.S. sales after the 2023 model year.
For longtime Mazda fans, that piece of news also means that Mazda’s Wankel rotary engine won’t be coming back to America anytime soon.
The MX-30 EV arrived for first deliveries in late 2021, and with its 100-mile EPA range rating it’s been one of the lowest-driving-range EVs available in the U.S. market.
The single-motor, front-wheel-drive MX-30 was always intended to be just part of the lineup, though. Since the model’s 2021 introduction, Mazda teased an upcoming range-extended version enabled by a Wankel rotary engine—a Mazda signature—on board as a range extender.
That version, called the Mazda MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV, is on closer scrutiny a model that may be hard for American drivers to comprehend, let alone see advantages to in either by-the-numbers operating expenses or in sheer driving enjoyment. It features a smaller 17.8-kwh battery pack enabling a range that might likely land near 40 miles EPA (53 miles on the significantly more generous WLTP cycle). Its little 0.83-liter, single-rotor engine makes 73 hp and its only task is to drive a generator. Despite a boost at the drive motor of about 25 hp, a gain of more than 250 pounds doesn’t make it much quicker than the EV, and both dash to 60 mph in the nine-second range.
It’s unclear what kind of fuel economy the R-EV might have been able to deliver after running through a charge in American-style freeway driving, but rotary engines were never stellar for cruising efficiency, and neither is the series-hybrid layout.
In a statement, Mazda North American Operations emphasized that plug-in hybrids rather than EVs are in its immediate future for America. And it essentially cuts off any hope of the R-EV arriving in the U.S.
“Our current U.S. electrification efforts are focused on large platform PHEVs, such as the first-ever 2024 CX-90 PHEV and upcoming CX-70 PHEV, as well as introducing CX-50 Hybrid into our lineup to address the specific needs of the U.S. market,” it stated.
Mazda rotary nostalgia? Not for now, America
That said, Mazda reported that “mass production” of the R-EV had started, and the model appears to still be bound for Europe and the U.K., with deliveries due in the fall.
As a Mazda executive told Green Car Reports several years ago, before the project itself had been revealed, the automaker had pushed for the idea of a rotary range extender partly because of Americans’ nostalgia over the brand’s rotary-powered sports cars like the RX-7 and RX-8. America may have inspired the product but it appears to lose out in actually getting the product.
In a review of the Mazda MX-30 EV published earlier this year, we found this short-range EV to offer up a bewildering mix of limited compliance-car availability, compromised performance, slow road-trip charging, and an underwhelming exterior design contrasting with unique cabin appointments that felt as if Mazda were pulling out all the stops.
MX-30 EV has been exotic-car rare
The MX-30 has been a very slow-seller, which Mazda has only officially made available in California. Mazda delivered just 520 MX-30s for the 2022 model year, split between late calendar-year 2021 and the earlier part of 2022. Then with the 2022s gone, a 2023 Mazda MX-30 EV returned with only a slight price increase.
The 2023 model year may be the one for the collectors, as it’s looking rarer than some supercars. Mazda sold just 66 MX-30 EVs in the U.S. in the first half of 2023 (through June), and we’ve no reason to believe that the pace picked up appreciably in July.
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WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden has decided to keep U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado, overturning a last-ditch decision by the Trump administration to move it to Alabama and ending months of politically fueled debate, according to senior U.S. officials.
The officials said Biden was convinced by the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness. Dickinson's view, however, was in contrast to Air Force leadership, who studied the issue at length and determined that relocating to Huntsville, Alabama, was the right move.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the decision ahead of the announcement.
The president, they said, believes that keeping the command in Colorado Springs would avoid a disruption in readiness that the move would cause, particularly as the U.S. races to compete with China in space. And they said Biden firmly believes that maintaining stability will help the military be better able to respond in space over the next decade. Those factors, they said, outweighed what the president believed would be any minor benefits of moving to Alabama.
Biden's decision is sure to enrage Alabama lawmakers and fuel accusations that abortion politics played a role in the choice. The location debate has become entangled in the ongoing battle between Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville and the Defense Department over the move to provide travel for troops seeking reproductive health care. Tuberville opposed the policy is blocking hundreds of military promotions in protest.
The U.S. officials said the abortion issue had no effect at all on Biden's decision. And they said the president fully expected there would be different views on the matter within the Defense Department.
Formally created in August 2019, the command was temporarily based in Colorado, and Air Force and Space Force leaders initially recommended it stay there. In the final days of his presidency Donald Trump decided it should be based in Huntsville.
The change triggered a number of reviews.
Proponents of keeping the command in Colorado have argued that moving it to Huntsville and creating a new headquarters would set back its progress at a time it needs to move quickly to be positioned to match China’s military space rise. And Colorado Springs is also home to the Air Force Academy, which now graduates Space Force guardians, and more than 24 military space missions, including three Space Force bases.
Officials also argued that any new headquarters in Alabama would not be completed until sometime after 2030, forcing a lengthy transition.
Huntsville, however, scored higher than Colorado Springs in a Government Accountability Office assessment of potential locations and has long been a home to some of earliest missiles used in the nation’s space programs, including the Saturn V rocket. It is home to the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command.
According to officials, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who ordered his own review of the matter, leaned toward Huntsville, while Dickinson was staunchly in favor of staying put. The officials said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin presented both options to Biden.
The decision was good news for Colorado lawmakers.
“For two and a half years we’ve known any objective analysis of this basing decision would reach the same conclusion we did, that Peterson Space Force Base is the best home for Space Command," Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said in a statement. “Most importantly, this decision firmly rejects the idea that politics — instead of national security — should determine basing decisions central to our national security.”
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said the decision “restores integrity to the Pentagon’s basing process and sends a strong message that national security and the readiness of our Armed Forces drive our military decisions.”
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| 2023-07-31T20:24:23
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HONG KONG (AP) — The discovery of a whale carcass in Hong Kong waters Monday sparked an outpouring of grief on social media, with many comments blaming the mammal’s death on sightseers.
Many residents speculated that the dead mammal was the same whale that had been attracting groups of sightseers since it was first spotted in the city’s waters in mid-July.
Compass Chan, scientific officer of Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong, didn’t confirm whether it was the same whale. But he said an initial check of the dead whale found a new wound on its back, in addition to two old wounds.
“It’s a pity,” Chan said at a media briefing. “I think it’s a good opportunity for everyone to think seriously about how we should get along with other species in nature.”
The whale’s cause of death would have to be confirmed by a necropsy, he said.
The carcass was in found in the waters in Sai Kung — a district known for its hiking trails, beaches and islands. Many residents blamed the death on sightseers who have flocked to those waters since a whale was spotted there about two weeks ago. Some posted a Canto-pop song whose title translates as “Whale Eater.”
The foundation had released a statement last week saying that crowds of people had been seen approaching the animal, which was believed to be a Bryde’s whale of about seven meters (23 feet) long. The foundation said at the time that the whale had propeller wounds and that nearby human activity could cause it stress and have life-threatening consequences.
The government said Monday night that the necropsy might take several days and that its results could help shape future policy for how to deal with whales in Hong Kong waters.
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| 2023-07-31T20:24:26
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Friday issued a proposal to update Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks, calling for a fleet average of 58 mpg, according to its methodology, by 2032—which will equate to a real-world fleet efficiency average of about 43.5 mpg.
The proposed rules, on which the NHTSA is now taking public comment, call for a 2% annual improvement in fuel efficiency for passenger cars, and a 4% improvement for light trucks, between model years 2027 and 2032. As is always the case with CAFE standards though, the 58-mpg figure in the framework itself represents an array of adjustments built into the rules, as well as the existence of emissions credits automakers can purchase to offset excess emissions.
The proposal also includes a 10% annual improvement in fuel efficiency for commercial pickup trucks and work vans with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) or more than 8,500 pounds and less than 14,001 pounds, beginning with the 2030 model year and continuing through the 2035 model year.
If enacted, these fuel-efficiency increases would eliminate the use of 88 billion gallons of gasoline through 2050 and prevent more than 900 million tons of CO2 emissions during that time, according to an NHTSA press release. The emissions reduction would be the equivalent of taking more than 233 million vehicles off the road from 2022 to 2050, according to the agency.
The proposed rules throttle back efficiency increases somewhat. As Reuters points out, NHTSA rules finalized in 2022 for model years 2024-2026 require a fleet average of 49 mpg by 2026, which calls for efficiency increases of 8% in 2024 and 2025 and 10% in 2026.
EPA rules might result in 67% EV sales by 2032. The current rules, EPA suggests, can be met with about 17% EV sales by 2026. The NHTSA and EPA share authority over emissions standards because they overlap in the EPA’s mandate to reduce pollution and the NHTSA’s mandate to administer rules governing new cars sold in the U.S.
How challenging the NHTSA proposal is to automakers, and how it stands versus proposed EPA rules announced earlier this year, depends on the outcome of a controversial factor that digs deep in rulemaking jargon but is especially important this time around. The NHTSA doesn’t directly consider the true efficiency of EVs, incorporating electricity generation, in its rule making, and the federal government is in the process of updating the Petroleum Equivalency Factor (PEF) that governs how EVs are taken into account.
The level of difficulty in meeting future emissions standards will depend to some level on the revised PEF and whether it becomes more representative of reality, which General Motors is opposing.
GM has also already taken issue with the EPA proposal for the next rule period and what the automaker views as an unrealistic acceleration of the EV market by the end of the decade. GM previously declared an “aspiration” to make all of its light-duty vehicles electric by 2035.
The Natural Resources Defense Council lauded the new standards and called them important to low-income drivers. But several other environmental groups, including the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Center for Biological Diversity spoke up on Friday to suggest that the NHTSA rules could be stronger to support the EPA rules recently released. Consumer Reports suggested that the new rules could go farther, and it pointed to a nationally representative survey it conducted in 2022 suggesting that fuel economy is “very important” or “extremely important” to 70% of American drivers. It also noted that strong CAFE rules will help assure that automakers make their EVs as efficient as possible.
After some negotiation, the NHTSA and EPA are usually in alignment on proposed emissions rules. In practice, if there’s more of a difference between them this time around, it might allow any remaining internal-combustion vehicles to be lower in their fuel efficiency than the EPA rules would permit—especially if EV volumes prove to be higher than assumed by rulemaking. But much is yet to be determined in the details and how this NHTSA proposal carries into a final rule.
with additional reporting by Bengt Halvorson
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https://www.cbs42.com/automotive/internet-brands/nhtsa-aims-for-43-5-mpg-across-new-vehicles-by-2032/
| 2023-07-31T20:24:28
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https://www.cbs42.com/automotive/internet-brands/nhtsa-aims-for-43-5-mpg-across-new-vehicles-by-2032/
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CHICAGO – , A leading anti-abortion organization criticized Republican Ron DeSantis on Monday for not supporting a national ban on the procedure, calling the Florida governor's position “unacceptable” as he seeks the GOP nomination for president.
The president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an influential player in conservative politics, took issue with DeSantis' statements in a recent interview in which he declined to back a national abortion ban. SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser said the anti-abortion movement and Americans across the U.S. deserve a president who will “boldly advocate” for a ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy.
“A pro-life president has a duty to protect the lives of all Americans. He should be the National Defender of Life," she said. “Gov. DeSantis’s dismissal of this task is unacceptable to prolife voters. A consensus is already formed. Intensity for it is palpable and measurable. There are many pressing legislative issues for which Congress does not have the votes at the moment, but that is not a reason for a strong leader to back away from the fight. This is where presidential leadership matters most."
DeSantis' campaign called the statement unjustified.
“Governor DeSantis delivers results and acts, especially when it comes to protecting life. He did so in Florida by signing the heartbeat bill and will be a pro-life president," Press Secretary Bryan Griffin said. "He does not kowtow to DC interest groups. This unjustified attack on him is another example of the DC political games that have seen conservatives falter in Washington while Governor DeSantis has produced unmatched conservative victories in Florida."
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America was responding to a recent interview in which Megyn Kelly asked DeSantis if he would support a national abortion ban. The U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, the roughly 50-year-old ruling that established a federal right to abortion. Susan B. Anthony has said it would not support any White House candidate in 2024 who did not at a minimum support a 15-week federal ban.
In the interview, DeSantis noted he signed legislation in Florida to ban abortion at six weeks of pregnancy but suggested that individual states should decide the issue. He said he is “pro-life” but added that he is “running on doing things that I know I can accomplish.”
Democrats say the Supreme Court's decision and Republicans' focus on restricting abortion rights have helped motivate voters to favor more liberal candidates, and the party believes it will be a major factor again in 2024. Abortion rights were on the ballot in six states in 2022, and in every contest voters opted to protect them. In the battleground state of Wisconsin, a liberal candidate who made abortion rights a centerpiece of her campaign won an April election for a seat on the state's highest court.
A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that the majority of U.S. adults want abortion to be legal at least through the initial stages of pregnancy. About two-thirds of Americans said abortion should generally be legal, but only about a quarter said it should always be legal and only about 1 in 10 said it should always be illegal.
About half of Americans say abortions should be permitted at the 15-week mark, though 55% of those living in states with the most restrictive laws say abortion should be banned by that point, the poll found.
The criticism from a powerful organization comes at a tenuous time for DeSantis, who is seen as the top rival to former President Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, but who has been running a distant second to Trump in public polling. DeSantis' campaign has been working in recent weeks to improve his trajectory and reboot his campaign, including cutting staff.
He is not alone in drawing criticism from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, however. The group also was critical of Trump for not supporting the 15-week federal ban.
Trump has defended that position, noting he appointed the Supreme Court justices who made it possible for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. Trump also has said that Republicans' focus on restricting abortion
Some other Republicans seeking the nomination support the national ban. Former Vice President Mike Pence said he would go further, endorsing a ban at six weeks of pregnancy, or before some women know they are pregnant.
He told The Associated Press that abortion should be banned when a pregnancy isn’t viable — a standard that would force women to carry pregnancies to term even when doctors have determined there is no chance a baby will survive outside the womb.
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Associated Press reporter Michelle L. Price contributed from New York.
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https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/07/31/leading-anti-abortion-group-rips-desantis-for-not-pushing-for-national-ban/
| 2023-07-31T20:24:29
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Red Bull Racing scored a one-two finish during the past week’s Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, which served as round 13 of the 2023 season and the final race before the summer break.
Fresh from his win at Saturday’s standalone Sprint race, Max Verstappen took home another win on Sunday at the main event after recovering from starting in the fifth position due to a grid penalty related to a gearbox change. Once again the rest of the field, including Verstappen teammate Sergio Perez, provided little in the way of competition.
Perez, who started the race second on the grid, finished 22 seconds after Verstappen to secure second place, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, the polesitter, finished 32 seconds behind the winner to secure the final podium spot.
There was plenty of action at the start, with Perez moving ahead of Leclerc on the first lap and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri making contact. The damage eventually led to both drivers retiring, with Piastri out at the start and Sainz around the midway point of the race.
Verstappen was able to take advantage of the clash and move up to fourth early on, behind Hamilton, who was in third behind Perez and Leclerc. Verstappen made a successful move on Hamilton on lap six and passed Leclerc to claim second just three laps later.
He overtook race leader Perez on lap 16. With a gap of just half a second between them, Verstappen used the DRS on the Kemmel straight to shoot past his teammate. From there, the reigning world champion cruised to the end of the race.
Hamilton finished in fourth place, and managed to set the fastest lap of the race fresh after changing to Medium tires on the penultimate lap. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished in fifth place ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, who worked a one-stop strategy to take sixth.
Following the weekend’s action, Verstappen leads the 2023 Drivers’ Championship with 314 points. Perez is a distant second with 189 points and Alonso is third with 149 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull leads with 503 points, versus the 247 points of second-placed Mercedes and 196 points of third-placed Aston Martin. Teams now enjoy a three-week summer break before returning for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Below are the full results from the 2023 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix:
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
2) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing +22.305 seconds
3) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +32.259 seconds
4) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG +49.671 seconds
5) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +56.184 seconds
6) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG +63.101 seconds
7) Lando Norris, McLaren +73.719 seconds
8) Esteban Ocon, Alpine +74.719 seconds
9) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +79.340 seconds
10) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri +80.221 seconds
11) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri +83.084 seconds
12) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo +85.191 seconds
13) Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo +95.441 seconds
14) Alexander Albon, Williams +96.184 seconds
15) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +101.754 seconds
16) Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri +103.071 seconds
17) Logan Sargeant, Williams +104.476 seconds
18) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas +110.450 seconds
NC) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari – DNF
NC) Oscar Piastri, McLaren – DNF
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https://www.cbs42.com/automotive/internet-brands/red-bull-secures-one-two-finish-at-2023-f1-belgian-grand-prix/
| 2023-07-31T20:24:34
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https://www.cbs42.com/automotive/internet-brands/red-bull-secures-one-two-finish-at-2023-f1-belgian-grand-prix/
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HONG KONG (AP) — A French man is believed to have fallen to his death from a high-rise residential building in Hong Kong last week, police said on Monday, with local media outlets identifying him as daredevil Remi Lucidi.
Police said a 30-year-old man’s body was found on a patio in the city’s upscale Mid-Levels area. He was believed to have engaged in extreme sports, police said, without identifying him.
Officers conducted an initial investigation and said he apparently fell from a rooftop. No suicide note was found at the scene, they said. The cause of his death would have to be verified by an autopsy, they added.
Local media, including the South China Morning Post, said the man was Lucidi, 30. The Post cited an unnamed source saying he was last seen alive knocking on a penthouse window on the 68th floor of a residential tower on Thursday evening. The Associated Press has not been able to verify his identity.
Lucidi, who used the name “Remi Enigma” on social media, last posted a photo of Hong Kong’s night view a week ago on Instagram and tagged the location as Times Square in shopping district Causeway Bay. The photo appeared to be taken from above.
Supporters mourned him on social media.
Lucidi posted to Instagram as he climbed various tall structures around the world and took selfies, including one he captioned, “Above the Sky, 425m” and tagged Dubai as the location.
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https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/international/ap-french-daredevil-who-climbed-towers-around-world-believed-to-have-fallen-to-his-death-in-hong-kong/
| 2023-07-31T20:24:34
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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Kansas City Chiefs need look no further than last season's playoffs, and the sight of Patrick Mahomes hobbling to the sideline against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a high ankle sprain, to understand the importance in protecting their quarterback.
Yet oddly enough, they were OK watching both of their starting offensive tackles leave in free agency.
The big blow was the departure of left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., for whom the Chiefs paid the Ravens handsomely in a trade, when the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a long-term deal.
But nearly as painful was the loss of right tackle Andrew Wylie, who had gone from an afterthought fighting for a job to one of the more reliable players along the offensive line.
Rarely do the Chiefs make such moves without a plan, though. General manager Brett Veach acted quickly to sign ex-Tampa Bay tackle Donovan Smith to handle the left side and former Jacksonville tackle Jawaan Taylor to handle the right, then Veach used a third-round pick on Oklahoma's Wanya Morris to create instant competition at both positions.
So far, Chiefs coach Andy Reid — an old offensive line coach — has liked what he's seen.
“You're never sure exactly what you're going to get there,” Reid said, “but they're competing and that's important. That's an important part of this, that you're able to push through these practices, run and pass. I like the way they work their game.”
The decision to put Mahomes' health in the hands of Smith and Taylor is a gamble, though. Neither of them graded out particularly well last season, depending on the metric you use, though both of them have shown flashes of high-level play in the past.
Smith, for example, ranked No. 66 among 81 offensive tackles by Pro Football Focus. Taylor was just one spot better.
But the Chiefs have established a track record of unlocking the potential in relatively unheralded players, particularly along the offensive line, where assistant coach Andy Heck is among the best in the business.
Wylie is a prime example: He was undrafted out of Eastern Michigan and wound up earning two Super Bowl rings in Kansas City before signing with Washington.
“All of us have played a lot of football and a lot of big games, tough games,” Taylor said. “We’re all smart mentally, physically. It’s just more so we’re tying in each and every individual aspect of who we are and how we play and tying it together and figuring out what works, what meshes. You know, just the many things we bring to the table per guy I would say is our strength.”
Another strength is having one of the best interior offensive lines in the NFL. Left guard Joe Thuney is considered one of the top five in the league at his position, right guard Trey Smith is likewise considered a top-tier guard, and center Creed Humphrey was picked for the Pro Bowl in just his second season in the league.
It also helps having Mahomes calling out the signals.
“Just a great leader man. He brings that energy every day, you know? He holds everybody accountable,” Donovan Smith said. "You mess up, we are going to redo it. Even in the walk-throughs and the learning periods, we always slow it down and we get to learn the offense. That’s been helping me a lot with the walk-throughs and learning the things they like doing here.”
The Chiefs were fortunate to overcome Mahomes' ankle injury in the playoffs. He returned in the second half to lead them past Jacksonville in the divisional round, and he hobbled through an AFC title game-thriller against Cincinnati, before hurting the ankle again in the Super Bowl — and then leading the Chiefs past Philadelphia for the Lombardi Trophy.
The pressure is on the Chiefs' new offensive tackles to prevent the same such stress this season.
NOTES: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire returned to practice Monday after missing the previous two with an illness. ... TE Jody Fortson (shoulder), WR Kadarius Toney (knee) and DE Mike Danna (calf) were among those that remained out. P Tommy Townsend also spent time in the medical tent, though no reason was given by the Chiefs. ... DT Chris Jones continued his holdout. He has been fined $50,000 for each day missed, which brings the total to $550,000. ... The Chiefs had a short practice Monday after three consecutive workouts in pads. They are off Tuesday before resuming camp Wednesday.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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https://www.clickorlando.com/sports/2023/07/31/chiefs-to-rely-on-new-offensive-tackles-to-protect-patrick-mahomes-this-season/
| 2023-07-31T20:24:35
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In 1998, Mercedes-Benz built the CLK LM to take on the FIA GT Championship in the premier GT1 class, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It dominated the series, though it failed to finish at Le Mans due to reliability issues.
Just four examples are thought to have been built in total, and now one of them is up for sale.
According to its listing on Piston Heads, the striking race car is available via London-based dealership JM Performance and was used purely as a test vehicle during its motorsports career. After that career ended, the car was sold into private hands, initially to a customer in Japan. It’s been with its current owner in the U.K. since 2017, who went through the process of making it road legal.
The CLK LM is the successor to the much more widely known Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR built a year prior. While that car required 25 road-going homologation specials to be built, the CLK LM needed just one.
That sole CLK LM homologation is currently in private hands and may eventually turn up for sale one day. Until that happens, anyone with a desire for a road-legal CLK LM can purchase this car from JM Performance. No price is mentioned in the listing.
For the CLK LM, Mercedes swapped out the CLK GTR’s V-12 engine in favor of a V-8 deemed to be better able to last when racing around the clock at Le Mans. The mid-mounted engine is a 5.0-liter unit rated at close to 600 hp. It’s paired with a 6-speed sequential transmission and spins the rear wheels only.
With the next season of the GT Championship adopting a prototype class for its premier class, Mercedes ended the CLK LM program, replacing it with the CLR prototype. That car had a disastrous outing at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, with aerodynamic issues causing multiple high-speed flips.
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https://www.cbs42.com/automotive/internet-brands/road-legal-mercedes-benz-clk-lm-race-car-up-for-sale/
| 2023-07-31T20:24:40
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https://www.cbs42.com/automotive/internet-brands/road-legal-mercedes-benz-clk-lm-race-car-up-for-sale/
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PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Of the thousands of emotions — trepidation among them — running through Damar Hamlin’s head Monday while he pulled on his pads for practice for the first time at training camp, the one that ultimately won out was joy.
For everything the Buffalo Bills safety has overcome in seven months since going into cardiac arrest during a game and needing to be resuscitated on the field, Hamlin leaned on his faith in God and himself, along with the support from his family and teammates, to take another step toward resume his playing career.
“A super big hurdle as you can imagine. Like, I pretty much lost my life playing this sport,” Hamlin said at a news conference after practice.
“I made the choice to play. But I’m processing a thousand emotions. I’m not afraid to say that it crosses my mind of being a little scared here and there,” he added. “My faith is stronger than any fear. That’s what I want to preach up here. And that’s the message I want to spread on to the world that as long as your faith is stronger than your fear, you can get through anything.”
Though Hamlin was cleared to resume practicing in mid-April, he did so wearing a helmet and shorts with the rest of his teammates through their spring sessions and first four days of training camp, as mandated by NFL rules. The magnitude of the Bills' first day in pads wasn’t lost on Hamlin, given it marked the first time he was in full uniform since collapsing on the field in Cincinnati on Jan. 2 after making what appeared to be a routine tackle of Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.
“Ah man, it feels amazing. It’s a roller coaster of emotions. I was kind of all over the place just being back for the first time,” Hamlin said. “Just trying to keep everything as normal as possible.”
The normality of football struck him about an hour into practice when Hamlin took the field for the first time during a team red-zone running drill in which tackling was still not allowed.
On his second play, Hamlin showed no hesitation when bursting toward Damien Harris and wrapping him up with both arms. A play later, running back James Cook broke a tackle before Hamlin joined a teammate in wrapping him up just before the goal line.
Hamlin’s biggest contact came on the final play of practice, when he avoided a block to work his way into the backfield and help a teammate stop tight end Quintin Morris for what would have been a loss.
“That first little moment of contact, that was just letting me know. I felt alive, man. I felt like I’m here,” Hamlin said with a wide grin. “So it felt good. It was just that moment of: ‘All right, let’s settle in and let’s just take one play at a time. Let’s just keep going.’”
Hamlin’s only lament was not having any balls thrown in his direction during team drills, though he laughed when saying that might not be a bad thing.
“When the ball’s not coming my way, that makes you think you’re doing your job right,” Hamlin said. “But, you know, I would love some more opportunities to make a big play and turn practice up a bit.”
The 25-year-old from the Pittsburgh area is entering his third NFL season. Selected by Buffalo in the sixth round of the 2021 draft out of Pitt, he opened last season as a backup before starting 13 games after Micah Hyde sustained a season-ending neck injury.
This year, Hamlin is competing with offseason free agent addition Taylor Rapp for a backup role behind Hyde and Jordan Poyer. As for Hamlin’s next hurdle, it’ll come Aug. 12, when the Bills open their preseason schedule at home against Indianapolis.
Rapp, who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, might be new to Buffalo but is impressed with how Hamlin has handled himself.
“How far he’s come and what he’s able to come back from late last season and just seeing how he goes about himself and attacks the rehab at the facility is nothing short of inspiring,” Rapp said.
A day earlier, coach Sean McDermott said he was walking a fine line in treating Hamlin much like any other player, while keeping in mind what he’s gone through.
“I think awareness is important, right? You’ve got X amount of guys out here and then you have Damar in there as well and trying to make it as a normal as possible,” McDermott said. “We’re going to support him through this, and to this point he’s done a phenomenal job.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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https://www.clickorlando.com/sports/2023/07/31/damar-hamlin-puts-aside-fear-and-practices-in-pads-for-the-first-time-since-cardiac-arrest/
| 2023-07-31T20:24:42
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BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s embattled central bank governor stepped down on Monday under a cloud of investigation and blame for his country’s economic crisis as several European countries are probing his alleged financial crimes.
Riad Salameh, 73, ended his 30-year tenure as tearful employees took photos and a band played celebratory music with drums and trumpets as he left the building.
His four vice governors, led by incoming interim governor Wassim Mansouri, quickly pivoted to urge fiscal reforms for the cash-strapped country.
“We are at a crossroads,” Mansouri said at a news conference. “There is no choice, if we continue previous policy … the funds in the Central Bank will eventually dry up.”
Salameh kicked off his tenure as governor in 1993, three years after Lebanon’s 15-year civil war came to an end. It was a time when reconstruction loans and aid was pouring into the country, and Salameh was widely celebrated for his role in Lebanon’s recovery.
Now, he leaves his post a wanted man in Europe, accused by many in Lebanon of being responsible for the country’s financial downfall since late 2019.
It was a steep fall for a leader whose policies were once hailed for keeping the currency stable. Later, many financial experts saw him as setting up a house of cards that crumbled as the country’s supply of dollars dried up on top of decades of rampant and corruption and mismanagement from Lebanon’s ruling parties.
The crisis has pulverized the Lebanese pound and wiped out the savings of many Lebanese, as the banks ran dry of hard currency.
With the country’s banks crippled and public sector in ruins, Lebanon for years has run on a cash-based economy and relied primarily on tourism and remittances from millions in the diaspora.
Mansouri said previous policies that permitted the central bank to spend large sums on money to prop up the Lebanese state is no longer feasible. He cited years of spending billions of dollars to subsidize fuel, medicine, wheat and more to keep the value of the Lebanese pound stable.
He proposed a six-month reform plan that included passing long awaited reforms such as capital controls, a bank restructuring law, and the 2023 state budget.
“The country cannot continue without passing these laws,” Mansouri explained. “We don’t have time, and we paid a heavy price that we cannot pay anymore.”
The reforms Mansouri mentioned are among those the International Monetary Fund set as conditions on Lebanon in April 2022 for a bailout plan, though he did not mention the IMF. None have been passed.
France, Germany, and Luxembourg are investigating Salameh and his associates over myriad financial crimes, including illicit enrichment and the laundering of $330 million. Paris and Berlin issued Interpol notices to the central bank chief in May, though Lebanon does not hand over its citizens to foreign countries.
Salameh has repeatedly denied the allegations and insisted that his wealth comes from his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, inherited properties, and investments. He has criticized the probe and said it was part of a media and political campaign to scapegoat him.
In his final interview as governor, Salameh said on Lebanese television that the responsibility for reforms lies with the government.
“Everything I did for the past 30 years was to try to serve Lebanon and the Lebanese,” he said. “Some — the majority —- were grateful, even if they don’t want to say so. And there are other people, well, may God forgive them.”
Salameh’s departure adds another gap in crisis-hit Lebanon’s withering and paralyzed institutions. The tiny Mediterranean country has been without a president for nine months, while its government has been running in a limited caretaker capacity for a year. Lebanon has also been without a top spy chief to head its General Security Directorate since March.
Lebanese officials in recent months were divided over whether Salameh should stay in his post or whether he should step down immediately in the remaining months of his tenure.
Caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam wanted an immediate stepdown, given that the central bank chief had a “legal question mark.”
“I cannot explain anyone holding on to a person while a nation is failing unless there is something wrong or hidden,” Salam told The Associated Press.
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| 2023-07-31T20:24:41
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HONG KONG (AP) — Fans of singer and songwriter Coco Lee, who was known for her powerful voice and live performances, gathered with flowers to pay their respects to their idol at her funeral in Hong Kong on Monday.
The memorial service was attended by her family and friends, including singers Elva Hsiao and Jenny Tseng, as well as other supporters. Lee died July 5 at age 48.
She was born in Hong Kong and attended school in San Francisco before releasing her first album in 1994 at age 19. She began her career as a Mandopop singer but branched out to release albums in Cantonese and English.
She was the first Chinese singer to break into the American market, and her English song “Do You Want My Love” climbed to #4 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Breakouts chart in December 1999. In 2001, she sang “A Love Before Time” from Ang Lee’s movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” at the Academy Awards, becoming the first Chinese American to perform at the Oscars.
Lee was also the voice of heroine Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of Disney’s “Mulan,” and sang the Mandarin version of the movie’s theme song “Reflection.”
Lee was married to Bruce Rockowitz, former CEO of Hong Kong supply chain company Li & Fung. She had two stepdaughters.
Her death had shocked fans. Her siblings posted on Facebook that she had depression for years and had attempted suicide at home on July 2. She died a few days later.
On Monday afternoon, more than 100 fans dressed in black were waiting outside the funeral home.
Lin Jing, a fan from Fujian province in the southeast, said she admired Lee’s smile and appearance, adding: “She was really talented. She always tried to improve and she inspired women to feel independent.”
Inside the funeral hall, three pink hearts made of flowers and other floral decorations were displayed below Lee’s photo.
Her close friend, Hsiao, said during the ceremony that she remembered watching Lee’s performances as a student and thinking of her as a perfect idol. After they became friends in the entertainment industry, Lee encouraged Hsiao when she was lost and treated her as “a little sister.”
“She brightened my life with her happiness and bravery. I will keep preserving her spirit,” Hsiao said in a quavering voice.
In a video for the memorial service, actors and singers from Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan recalled their memories with Lee and mourned her death.
Action star Jackie Chan said in the video that everyone was proud of her when she sang at the Oscars.
“To friends like us, Coco was a passionate and kind friend who showed care to us. She was really a good person. That’s why we are so reluctant to accept she has left us,” he said.
Award-winning director Ang Lee recalled his exchanges with the late singer before the Oscars and said it was a pity she died so young. “We miss her very much. Coco, rest in peace,” he said in the video.
Coco Lee had sounded notes of positivity in social media posts during the months before her death. In March, she posted about recuperating from surgery for an old leg injury.
“Successful surgery. Even though I’m in a lot of pain and I have to re-learn how to walk again, I know I can do it,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Yes I can and I will!”
___
Associated Press video journalist Alice Fung and news assistant Annie Cheung contributed to this report.
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| 2023-07-31T20:24:46
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WASHINGTON – A poster hanging at the DC Open site shows Frances Tiafoe — a competitor in the field from nearby Maryland — flanked by other men such as Andy Murray and Taylor Fritz and women such as Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula.
It is a simple visualization of a complicated change to a tournament that began Monday and has been around for men since 1969, added women via a simultaneous but lower-tier and less-promoted event in 2009 and now is taking a further step by touting itself as the first combined ATP-WTA 500 event. That is two levels below Grand Slams and one level below Masters 1000s and was accomplished by elevating the women’s portion through the lease of what had been a hard-court tourney in San Jose, California, played during the same week.
While ostensibly that puts the men and women on equal footing in Washington — where players both will be trying to win a trophy and to prepare for the U.S. Open, the year's last Grand Slam tournament — it still is not equal all the way around.
Most notably: The men’s champion receives a check for $353,445; the women’s champion earns $120,150. That is not an anomaly. There are other stops on the professional tennis tours that include female and male players but do not pay them evenly.
“Our main goal is to work toward equal prize money. That is what we want on the WTA side and what we think is fair. Especially at the combined events, we don’t want to see a discrepancy there. We want to see that we’re earning the same at the same event,” said Pegula, an American who is No. 3 in the rankings and seeded No. 1 in Washington and a member of the women's tour's player council. “The fans are coming to watch both of us, and we should be making the same.”
All four Grand Slam tournaments offer equal prize money across the board, something the U.S. Open started doing 50 years ago and others as recently as 2007. That won't happen at the DC Open until 2027 as part of a wider plan the WTA recently announced to get equal paychecks at certain events by that year and at others by 2033.
“That will give everyone a chance to hopefully get revenues to grow to be able to afford it,” said Mark Ein, who has been the tournament chairman since 2019 and is part of the group that recently bought the NFL’s Washington Commanders from Dan Snyder.
“When we took over the tournament, one of my top goals was to secure a women’s event at an equal level as our men’s,” Ein said. “One of the things I love about tennis is it’s really the only sport where athletes of both genders compete on the same playing surface at the same time.”
There are other discrepancies between the men’s and women’s brackets in Washington.
The men’s field is 48 players; the women’s is 28. The rankings points available are nearly the same, but the men’s champion gets 500, the women’s 470.
Like Pegula, three-time major champion Murray, who is seeded 15th in Washington, said that all players “at the same event, on the same courts,” should be vying for the same payouts.
“But I think for it ever to become like truly equal, the WTA and the ATP are actually going to have to come together and work as one before that’s the case, because I don’t think it’s that straightforward just now that both tours have different sponsors, different TV deals and all of that stuff, too,” Murray said. “There is a few things that still need to change, but I feel like things are going in the right direction, like with the move to this event becoming a 500 for both. Can obviously still get better.”
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2023-07-31T20:24:48
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BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military-controlled government has extended the state of emergency it imposed when the army seized power from an elected government 2 1/2 years ago, state-run media said Monday, forcing a further delay in elections it promised when it took over.
MRTV television said the National Defense and Security Council met Monday in the capital, Naypyitaw, and extended the state of emergency for another six months starting Tuesday because time is needed to prepare for the elections. The NDSC is nominally a constitutional government body, but in practice is controlled by the military.
The announcement amounted to an admission that the army does not exercise enough control to stage the polls and has failed to subdue widespread opposition to military rule, which includes increasingly challenging armed resistance as well as nonviolent protests and civil disobedience, despite the army having a huge advantage in manpower and weapons.
The state of emergency was declared when troops arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and top officials from her government and members of her National League for Democracy party on Feb. 1, 2021. The takeover reversed years of progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule in Myanmar.
The military said it seized power because of fraud in the last general election held in November 2020, in which Suu Kyi’s party won a landslide victory while the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development party did poorly. Independent election observers said they did not find any major irregularities.
The army takeover was met with widespread peaceful protests that security forces suppressed with lethal force, triggering armed resistance that U.N. experts have described as a civil war.
As of Monday, 3,857 people have been killed by the security forces since the takeover, according to a tally kept by the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
The army-enacted 2008 constitution allows the military to rule the country under a state of emergency for one year, with two possible six-month extensions if preparations are not yet completed for new polls, meaning that the time limit expired on Jan. 31 this year.
However, the NDSC allowed the military government to extend emergency rule for another six months in February, saying the country remained in an abnormal situation. The announcement on Monday is the fourth extension.
The state of emergency allows the military to assume all government functions, giving the head of the ruling military council, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, legislative, judicial and executive powers.
Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the National Unity Government, an underground group that calls itself the country’s legitimate government and serves as an opposition umbrella group, said the extension of emergency rule was expected because the military government hasn’t been able to annihilate the pro-democracy forces.
“The junta extended the state of emergency because the generals have a lust for power and don’t want to lose it. As for the revolutionary groups, we will continue to try to speed up our current revolutionary activities,” Nay Phone Latt said in a message Monday.
The military government labels the NUG and its armed wing, the People’s Defense Forces, as “terrorists.”
Monday’s report did not specify when the polls might be held, saying only that they would occur after the goals of the state of emergency are accomplished.
According to the constitution, the military must transfer government functions to the president, who heads the NDSC, six months before the polls. That would mean Acting President Myint Swe, a retired general.
The military originally announced that new polls would be held a year after its takeover and later said they would take place in August 2023. But the extension of the emergency in February made that timing impossible.
The MRTV report said Myint Swe told members of the NDSC that the government needs to do more to achieve stability and the rule of law to prepare for the election.
Critics say the polls will be neither free nor fair under the military-controlled government, which has shut independent media and arrested most of the leaders of Suu Kyi’s party.
Her party was dissolved along with 39 other parties by the election commission in March for failing to re-apply under a political party registration law enacted by the military government early this year. The law makes it difficult for opposition groups to mount a serious challenge to army-backed candidates.
Suu Kyi, 78, is serving prison sentences totaling 33 years after being convicted in a series of politically tainted cases brought mostly by the military government.
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| 2023-07-31T20:24:49
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A legal advocacy group for journalists wants to get involved in Disney’s free speech lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press says a win by the Florida governor could embolden other governments across the U.S. to take actions against journalists and other media when they exercise their First Amendment rights.
The group on Friday asked a judge for permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the claims brought by Disney against DeSantis, his appointees to a special district board governing Disney World and a state economic development agency. The lawsuit claims the Florida governor violated the company’s free speech rights by taking control over the district in retaliation for Disney’s public opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The committee said that the impact of a DeSantis win would be felt beyond the 39 square miles (101 square kilometers) of the Disney World property governed by the new appointees picked by the Florida governor to the governing district’s board.
“If Defendants prevail in this case, those on whose behalf the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press advocates will be first in the line of fire given the nature of reporting and the press’s role in our constitutional system,” the committee said in its request to file the supporting brief in federal court in Tallahassee. “As such, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’s proposed brief provides a voice to those not directly involved, but undoubtedly impacted by this case.”
DeSantis and Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity have argued that Disney’s case should be dismissed because of sovereign immunity protection against being sued for conducting government business, and that Disney hasn’t shown how it has been hurt so it lacks standing to sue the state government defendants.
DeSantis has used the fight with Disney to burnish his “anti-woke” credentials and demonstrate his ability to push a conservative agenda during his campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
The DeSantis appointees took over the Disney World governing board earlier this year following a yearlong feud between the company and DeSantis. The fight began last year after Disney, beset by significant pressure internally and externally, publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, a policy critics call “Don’t Say Gay.”
As punishment, DeSantis took over the district through legislation passed by Florida lawmakers and appointed a new board of supervisors to oversee municipal services for the sprawling theme parks and hotels.
If the retaliatory actions by DeSantis and Republican lawmakers are left unchecked, it poses a threat to watchdog journalism and press coverage of public issues “to the detriment to the free flow of information on matters of public concern that has long been the hallmark of our democratic system of government,” the committee said.
Before the new board came in, Disney made agreements with previous oversight board members who were Disney supporters that stripped the new supervisors of their authority over design and development. The DeSantis-appointed members of the governing district have sued Disney in state court in a second lawsuit stemming from the district’s takeover, seeking to invalidate those agreements.
Disney had asked for the case be dismissed or delayed pending the outcome of the federal lawsuit. However, Circuit Judge Margaret Schreiber in Orlando on Friday refused to toss or postpone the case, saying among other reasons that to do so would have created “an undue delay” for the district, which still must continue governing. ___
Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP
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| 2023-07-31T20:24:53
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Buttigieg touts progress in goal for half of new car sales to be electric vehicles
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Following an announcement of private investment plan for 30,000 new electric vehicle chargers across the United States, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said government investment has paved the way private companies to produce more electric cars.
“Federal investment to try and make up the difference where markets are still getting ready, and then the private sector, private industry, needs to do the rest,” Buttigieg said.
Leading global electric vehicle manufacturers, including Ford, General Motors and BMW have joined together to build 30,000 electric vehicle chargers across the country.
“When you fill up your gas car with gas you’re counting on private companies to set up for that,” Buttigieg said. “We really need private industry to play more of a roll in investing in and running these electric vehicle charging stations.”
The government has set aside $7.5 billion for states to create their own networks of EV chargers, but the Biden administration wants to guarantee things like price transparency, and guaranteeing a charger from one company works for another company’s vehicles.
“They are going to meet standards that we have set, and they’ll have to in order to qualify for federal support.”
Buttigieg said if the U.S. does not take the lead on electric vehicles, someone else will.
“There is a race, whether people realize it or not,” Buttigieg said. “Where in the middle of a heated race to win the future of electric vehicles.”
The federal money for EV charging networks comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021.
Copyright 2023 Gray DC. All rights reserved.
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| 2023-07-31T20:24:55
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BEIJING (AP) — A zoo in eastern China is denying suggestions some of its bears might be people in costumes after photos of the animals standing like humans circulated online.
The sun bears from Malaysia are smaller than other bears and look different but are the real thing, the Hangzhou Zoo said Monday on its social media account.
“Some people think I stand like a person,” said the posting, written from the bear’s point of view. “It seems you don’t understand me very well.”
An employee who answered the phone at the zoo declined to talk about the bears but said visits were being arranged for reporters Monday to see them.
Internet users questioned whether the zoo’s bears were real after photos circulated showing one standing upright on slender hind legs.
“Because of the way they stand, some people online question whether they are ‘humans in disguise,’” the newspaper Hangzhou Daily said.
Sun bears are the size of large dogs, standing at most 1.3 meters (50 inches) tall on their hind legs, compared with up to 2.8 meters (9 feet) for grizzlies and other species, according to the zoo.
Other Chinese zoos have been accused of trying to pass off dogs dyed to look like wolves or African cats, and donkeys painted to look like zebras.
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| 2023-07-31T20:24:56
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BAYREUTH, Germany (AP) — Two years after the debut of the Bayreuth Festival’s first female conductor, Nathalie Stutzmann became the second to lead a Richard Wagner opera in the Festpielhaus’ famous covered pit.
The 58-year-old former contralto, fresh off her first season as Atlanta Symphony Orchestra music director, drew a luminous performance of “Tannhäuser” on Friday night in a revival of the Tobias Kratzer 2019 production — the one featuring the title character in a clown suit and a murder in a Burger King parking lot.
“It’s good news to be second,” Stutzmann said. “It proves that things are moving.”
Launched by Richard Wagner in 1876 and currently run by great-granddaughter Katharina Wagner, the festival broke its conductor gender barrier when Oksana Lyniv led a new staging of “Der Fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman)” in 2021. The 45-year-old returned this summer to preside over the Dmitri Tcherniakov production for the third straight year.
“They are very highly accepted,” Katharina Wagner said. “I hope that this question would disappear with time, that we are just talking about good conductors and not female and male conductors anymore.”
Stutzmann’s year so far has also included debuts with the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera, where she provoked the orchestra when she alleged in a New York Times interview that musicians were bored playing while not being able to see onstage activity. The orchestra criticized her in a statement, prompting Stutzmann to apologize.
At Bayreuth, conductors must adjust to a pit Richard Wagner designed to keep the orchestra hidden from the audience, arranged in nine rows that descend toward the stage: violins in the first two, followed by violas, cellos, double basses, woodwinds, brass and percussion. The instrumental sound mixes with voices before traveling out to 30 rows of seats and three tiers of boxes.
“I had done a lot of research, so I knew the experience would be new and unexpected and tricky,” Stutzmann said in a response to an emailed question. “We hear the sound completely different from what the audience hears, that’s why we have to rely on our assistants. … You hardly hear the singers on stage and they sound always late even when we are perfectly together!”
Stutzmann’s performance, using the original Dresden score, featured unusual clarity when the overture slowed and the volume lowered during a pilgrims’ chorus repeat in the overture. She was greeted with boisterous applause and foot-stomping during 14 minutes of curtain calls.
Stutzmann has been invited back to conduct the 2024 revival of the sold-out “Tannhäuser” staging, notorious for the director adding the drag queen Le Gateau Chocolat and dwarf actor Manni Laudenbach, who combine with the title character and the goddess Venus to form a counterculture clique Richard Wagner never could have envisioned for a work that premiered in 1845.
During an interview in New York before heading to Germany, Stutzmann said “Tannhäuser” was the perfect vehicle for her Bayreuth debut, given her quarter-century as a contralto and the opera’s full title, which translates to “Tannhäuser and the Minstrels’ Contest at Wartburg.”
She winked.
“It’s a singer competition, after all,” she said with a laugh.
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:00
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Chief Meteorologist Hutch Johnson says goodbye to Valley News Live
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - After 16 years at Valley News Live, Chief Meteorologist Hutch Johnson is saying his goodbye to the station. Johnson has decided to move on and explore other opportunities.
In that time, Hutch Johnson has lead coverage on the twists and turns severe weather brings each season in the valley and helped grow the station’s First Alert brand.
Johnson started his career in 1998 in Cheyenne, WY and worked at KXMB-TV in 1999 in Bismarck, North Dakota, after graduating from Metropolitan State University of Denver in 1995. Throughout his career, Johnson was honored with several Upper-Midwest Emmy nominations and awards.
“It has been a pleasure working with Hutch over the years, we wish Hutch nothing but the best” News Director Renee Nygren said. KVLY Vice President and General Manager, Ike Walker said of Johnson’s decision, “it has been my honor and privilege to work with Hutch for over 10 years. His passion for weather is felt by all around him, and he will be missed. Good luck in the future.”
Hutch’s last day on-air will be Friday, August 4th.
Copyright 2023 KVLY. All rights reserved.
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:01
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PYEONGTAEK, South Korea (AP) — The dogs bark and stare as Kim Jong-kil approaches the rusty cages housing the large, short-haired animals he sells for their meat. Kim opens a door and pets one dog’s neck and chest.
Kim says he’s proud of the dog meat farm that has supported his family for 27 years, but is upset over growing attempts by politicians and activists to outlaw the business, which he is turning over to his children.
“It’s more than just feeling bad. I absolutely oppose these moves, and we’ll mobilize all our means to resist it,” Kim, 57, said in an interview at his farm in Pyeongtaek city, just south of Seoul.
Dog meat consumption is a centuries-old practice on the Korean Peninsula and has long been viewed as a source of stamina on hot summer days. It’s neither explicitly banned nor legalized in South Korea, but more and more people want it prohibited. There’s increasing public awareness of animal rights and worries about South Korea’s international image.
The anti-dog meat campaign recently received a big boost when the country’s first lady expressed her support for a ban and two lawmakers submitted bills to eliminate the dog meat trade.
“Foreigners think South Korea is a cultural powerhouse. But the more K-culture increases its international standing, the bigger shock foreigners experience over our dog meat consumption,” said Han Jeoungae, an opposition lawmaker who submitted legislation to outlaw the dog meat industry last month.
Prospects for passage of an anti-dog meat law are unclear because of protests by farmers, restaurant owners and others involved in the dog meat industry. Surveys suggest that one in three South Koreans opposes such a ban, though most people don’t eat dog meat anymore.
Dogs are also eaten in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, North Korea and some African countries, including Ghana, Cameroon, Congo and Nigeria.
Earlier this month, Indonesian authorities announced the end of dog and cat slaughter at an animal market on the island of Sulawesi following a yearslong campaign by local activists and world celebrities. The Tomohon Extreme Market will become the first such market in Indonesia to go dog and cat meat-free, according to the anti-animal cruelty group Humane Society International.
South Korea’s dog meat industry receives more international attention because of its reputation as a wealthy, ultra-modern democracy. It is also the only nation with industrial-scale farms. Most farms in South Korea have more than 500 dogs, according to a dog farmers’ association.
During a recent visit, Kim’s farm, one of the country’s largest with 7,000 dogs, appeared relatively clean but there was a strong stench in some areas. All dogs are kept in elevated cages and are fed with food waste and ground chicken. They are rarely released for exercise and typically are sold for meat one year after they are born.
Kim said two of his children, age 29 and 31, are running the farm with him, and that business has been going pretty well. He said the dogs bred for their meat are different from pets, an idea opposed by activists.
It’s difficult now to find dog meat restaurants in Seoul’s bustling downtown, though many still exit in the countryside.
“I only earn one-third of the money I used to make. Young people don’t come here. Only ailing old people come for lunch,” said Yoon Chu-wol, 77, the owner of a dog meat restaurant in Seoul’s Kyungdong traditional market. “I tell my elderly customers to come and eat my food more frequently before it’s banned.”
Farmers also face growing scrutiny from officials and increasingly negative public opinion. They complain that officials visit them repeatedly in response to complaints filed by activists and citizens over alleged animal abuse and other wrongdoing. Kim said more than 90 such petitions were filed against his farm during a recent four-month span.
Son Won Hak, general secretary of the dog farmers’ association, said many farms have collapsed in recent years because of falling dog meat prices and weaker demand. He thinks that’s a result of activist campaigns and unfair media reports focusing on farms with inferior conditions. Some observers, however, say consumption of dog meat was already declining, with younger people staying away from it.
“Quite honestly, I’d like to quit my job (as a farmer) tomorrow. We can’t confidently tell our children that we’re raising dogs,” Son said. “When my friends called me, they said ‘Hey, are you still running a dog meat farm? Isn’t it illegal?’”
The number of farms across South Korea has dropped by half from a few years ago to about 3,000 to 4,000, and about 700,000 to 1 million dogs are slaughtered each year, a decline from several million 10 to 20 years ago, according to the dog farmers’ association. Some activists argue that the farmers’ estimates are an exaggeration meant to show their industry is too big to destroy.
In late 2021, South Korea launched a government-civilian task force to consider outlawing dog meat at the suggestion of then-President Moon Jae-in, a pet lover. The committee, whose members include farmers and animal rights activists, has met more than 20 times but hasn’t reached any agreement, apparently because of disputes over compensation issues.
Agriculture officials refused to disclose the discussions in the closed-door meetings. They said the government wants to end dog meat consumption based on a public consensus.
In April, first lady Kim Keon Hee, the wife of current President Yoon Suk Yeol, said in a meeting with activists that she hopes for an end to dog meat consumption. Famers responded with rallies and formal complaints against Kim for allegedly hurting their livelihoods.
Han, the lawmaker, said she “highly positively appraises” influential figures speaking out against dog meat consumption.
Han said her bill offers support programs for farmers who agree to close their farms. They would be entitled to money to dismantle their facilities, vocational training, employment assistance and other benefits, she said.
Ju Yeongbong, an official of the farmers’ association, said farmers want to continue for about 20 more years until older people, their main customers, die, allowing the industry to naturally disappear. Observers say most farmers are also in their 60s to 70s.
Borami Seo, a director of the South Korea office of the Humane Society International, said she opposes the continued killing of millions of dogs for such a prolonged period. “Letting this silent cruelty to (dogs) be committed in South Korea doesn’t make sense,” Seo said.
“(Dog meat consumption) is too anachronistic, has elements of cruelty to animals and hinders our national growth,” said Cheon JinKyung, head of Korea Animal Rights Advocates in Seoul.
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:03
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ARNOLD, Pa. — A woman is facing charges after a child fell out of her car while leading police on a chase in Westmoreland County.
Amanda Shaw, 30, is facing several charges — including endangering the welfare of children and aggravated assault for the chase on July 19 in the city of Arnold, according to court documents.
The documents allege officers responded to Leishman Avenue and Dray Street because they learned a woman was trying to get someone else to blow into a car breathalyzer. Once police got to the area, they saw Shaw in a GMC SUV in the middle of the road and tried to get her to stop the vehicle, but she continued driving.
Shaw “picked up speed” on Dray Street and then made a sharp left into Dunn Alley. At this time, court documents say an eight-year-old girl fell out the window of Shaw’s SUV.
Shaw eventually stopped at her home on Woodmont Avenue and tried to run from police, but was arrested. At the time of the arrest, officers noticed signs of intoxication, and later a breathalyzer test showed she had a .106 BAC.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose Pee-wee Herman character — an overgrown child with a tight gray suit and an unforgettable laugh — became a 1980s pop cultural phenomenon, has died at 70.
Reubens, who’s character delighted fans in the film “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” and on the TV series “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” died Sunday night after a six-year struggle with cancer that he kept private, his publicist said in a statement.
“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” Reubens said in a statement released Monday with the announcement of his death. “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”
Created for the stage, Pee-wee with his white chunky loafers and red bow tie would become a cultural constant in both adult and children’s entertainment for much of the 1980s, though an indecent exposure arrest in 1991 would send the character into entertainment exile for years.
The laugh that punctuated every sentence, catch phrases like “I know you are but what am I” and a tabletop dance to the Champs’ song “Tequila” in a biker bar in “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” were often imitated by fans, to the joy of some and the annoyance of others.
Reubens created Pee-wee when he was part of the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings in the late 1970s. The live “Pee-wee Herman Show” debuted at a Los Angeles theater in 1981 and was a success with both kids during matinees and adults at a midnight show.
The show closely resembled the format the Saturday morning TV “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” would follow years later, with Herman living in a wild and wacky home with a series of stock-character visitors, including one, Captain Karl, played by the late “Saturday Night Live” star Phil Hartman.
HBO would air the show as a special.
Reubens took Pee-wee to the big screen with 1985’s “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” which takes the character outside for a nationwide escapade. The film, in which Pee-wee’s cherished bike is stolen, was said to be loosely based on Vittorio De Sica’s Italian neo-realist classic, “The Bicycle Thief.” Directed by Tim Burton and co-written by Hartman, the movie was a success, grossing $40 million, and continued to spawn a cult following for its oddball whimsy.
A sequel followed three years later in the less well-received “Big Top Pee-wee,” in which Pee-wee seeks to join a circus. Reubens’ character wouldn’t get another movie starring role until 2016’s Pee-wee’s Big Holiday,” for Netflix. Judd Apatow produced Pee-wee’s big-screen revival.
His television series, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” ran for five seasons, earned 22 Emmys and attracted not only children but adults to Saturday-morning TV.
Jimmy Kimmel posted on Instagram that “Paul Reubens was like no one else — a brilliant and original comedian who made kids and their parents laugh at the same time. He never forgot a birthday and shared his genuine delight for silliness with everyone he met.”
Both silly and subversive and championing nonconformity, the Pee-wee universe was a trippy place, populated by things like a talking armchair and a friendly pterodactyl. The host, who is fond of secret words and loves fruit salad so much he once married it, is prone to lines like, “Why don’t you take a picture; it’ll last longer?” The act was a hit because it worked on multiple levels, even though Reubens insists that wasn’t the plan.
“It’s for kids,” Reubens told The Associated Press in 2010. “People have tried to get me for years to go, ‘It wasn’t really for kids, right?’ Even the original show was for kids. I always censored myself to have it be kid-friendly.
“The whole thing has been just a gut feeling from the beginning,” Reubens told the AP. “That’s all it ever is and I think always ever be. Much as people want me to dissect it and explain it, I can’t. One, I don’t know, and two, I don’t want to know, and three, I feel like I’ll hex myself if I know.”
Reubens’ career was derailed when he was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult movie theater in Sarasota, Florida, the city where he grew up. He was handed a small fine but the damage was incalculable.
He became the frequent butt of late-night talk show jokes and the perception of Reubens immediately changed.
“The moment that I realized my name was going to be said in the same sentence as children and sex, that’s really intense,” Reubens told NBC in 2004. “That’s something I knew from that very moment, whatever happens past that point, something’s out there in the air that is really bad.”
Reubens said he got plenty of offers to work, but told the AP that most of them wanted to take “advantage of the luridness of my situation”,” and he didn’t want to do them.
“It just changed,” he said. “Everything changed.”
He did take advantage of one chance to poke fun at his tarnished image. Just weeks after his arrest, he would open the MTV Video Music Awards, walking on to the stage alone and saying, “Heard any good jokes lately?” (Herman appearances on MTV had fueled Pee-wee’s popularity in the early 1980s.)
In 2001, Reubens was arrested and charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography after police seized images from his computer and photography collection, but the allegation was reduced to an obscenity charge and he was given three years probation.
Born Paul Rubenfeld in Peekskill, New York, in 1952, the eldest of three kids, he grew up in Sarasota where his parents ran a lamp store and he put on comedy shows for neighbor kids.
After high school he sought to study acting. He spent a year at Boston University, and was then turned down by the Juilliard School and Carnegie-Mellon University. So he enrolled at the California Institute of the Arts. That would lead to appearances at local comedy clubs and theaters and joining the Groundlings.
After the 1991 arrest, he would spend the decade playing primarily non-Pee-wee characters, including roles in Burton’s 1992 movie “Batman Returns,” the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” film and a guest-star run on the TV series “Murphy Brown.”
He also appeared in the 1999 comedy film “Mystery Men” and Johnny Depp’s 2001 drug-dealer drama “Blow.”
Reubens — who never lost his boyish appearance even in his 60s, would slowly re-introduce Pee-wee, eventually doing a Broadway adaptation of “The Pee-wee Herman Show” in 2010, and the 2016 Netflix movie.
Reubens was beloved by his fellow comedians, and fans of Pee-wee spanned the culture.
Director Guillermo del Toro tweeted Monday that he was “one of the patron saints of all misfitted, weird, maladjusted, wonderful, miraculous oddities.”
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Associated Press Writer Alicia Rancilio and Film Writer Jake Coyle contributed to this report.
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Doctors concerned brain-eating amoeba infection could increase due to warmer water temperatures
PHOENIX (KPHO/Gray News) -- Some scientists predict brain-eating amoeba cases could grow since we’ve had record heat and water temperatures are increasing.
The amoeba, naegleria fowleri, can enter the body through the nose and travel to the brain, resulting in an infection. While cases are limited over the years, there have been multiple in Arizona at Lake Pleasant and Lake Mead.
Most recently in Nevada, a child died because of the disease.
Brain-eating amoeba is a microscopic parasite found in warm, fresh bodies of water like hot springs or lakes. You can’t get it by accidentally swallowing the water or through a cut. The only way to get infected is by getting it far up your nose by diving or cannonballing into a lake.
Although infection is rare, the disease has a 97% fatality rate since symptoms are common at first. The disease is usually only diagnosed when it’s in the late-stage and symptoms progress to more severe illness like hallucinations and seizures. By that point, it’s usually too late to treat the disease effectively.
There are only about 10 cases per year, but experts say because the amoebas live in warm, fresh bodies of water, they expect to see that number increase with rising temperatures.
Dr. Wassim Ballan, an infectious disease specialist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, said there are concerns about cases rising, as well as a number of other infectious diseases.
“We are probably going to see a change in trends because of the climate changing and the temperatures rising,” Ballan said. “So there is a lot of concern in the infectious disease community about a lot of different infections, including amoebic infections becoming more common as the climate is warming.”
He also said parents who notice their child feeling unwell after a day of swimming should get them checked out right away. Early symptoms usually start five days after infection. They include sudden fever, headache, and stiff neck. Because the amoebas can only be deadly by entering through the nose, doctors recommend you not jump or dive into the water and instead hold your nose or wear nose clips. Or better yet, keep your head above water.
Digging in shallow water is also not advised since it stirs up the sediment where the amoeba live. It’s important to note there haven’t been any recent cases at Saguaro Lake. Since they started tracking the disease in 1962, there have been only 160 reported cases, so it’s infrequent. Still, Ballan said it isn’t worth the risk when prevention is so easy.
For more information on the naegleria fowleri, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.
Copyright 2023 KPHO/KTVK via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:07
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DUQUESNE, Pa. — A man is behind bars after allegedly shooting a three-year-old boy in Duquesne in February, police said.
The shooting happened on Feb. 17 in the 100 block of N. 3rd Street.
The toddler was shot in the abdomen inside of a house, Allegheny County police said.
The victim is recovering from his injuries and is expected to survive.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >> 2-year-old boy hospitalized after being shot in Duquesne
Police determined Ammar Rodriguez, 19, was responsible for the shooting.
An arrest warrant was issued for Rodriguez in March.
On Monday, a detective saw Rodriguez boarding a bus in downtown Pittsburgh. Investigators followed the bus to McKeesport where he was taken into custody without incident.
Rodriguez, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and a firearm violation.
Rodriguez is being held at the Allegheny County Jail.
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:12
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A state-run oil giant in the United Arab Emirates said Monday it has moved up its target for achieving net zero emissions in its operations to 2045, as the country prepares to host U.N. climate talks later this year.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, known as ADNOC, said it is also committed to acheiving zero methane emissions by 2030. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term.
Earlier this year, ADNOC earmarked $15 billion for an array of green initiatives, including the development of hydrogen power, carbon capture facilities and the planting of mangroves.
The company had previously committed to net zero — the balancing of greenhouse gas emissions to the point that the amount removed from the atmosphere is equal to the amount emitted — by 2050.
The UAE, an OPEC member that produces over 3 million barrels of crude oil a day, will host the global climate talks known as COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in Dubai. It has appointed Sultan al-Jaber, the head of ADNOC, to chair the meeting, a move that drew criticism from some environmentalists.
Al-Jaber has emphasized the need to cut emissions, rather than end fossil fuel use itself. It’s prompted fears that he might seek loopholes for untested carbon-capture technologies and so-called offsets that experts say distract from the need to end the release of greenhouse gases.
Governments agreed eight years ago in Paris to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) — ideally no more than 1.5C (2.7F). With average global temperatures already about 1.2C (2.2F) above pre-industrial levels, experts say the window to meet the more ambitious target is closing fast and even the less stringent goal would be missed if emissions aren’t slashed sharply soon.
The UAE, a global hub for business and tourism, has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050 — a target that remains difficult to assess and one that authorities haven’t fully explained how they’ll reach. Analysts believe the Emirates is trying to maximize its profits as the world turns to renewables.
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:11
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — If you believe Janelle Monae ’s hyper-sexual expression is a front, think again.
These days, Monae is unapologetically living her truth in a bold manner while trying to avoid negativity. The star, once known for sporting custom-made suits, has shed that attire (at least for now) to nearly bare all, like on the cover of her latest studio album, “The Age of Pleasure,” where she’s seen swimming topless in a pool. It’s her first release since 2018’s “Dirty Computer,” which was nominated for album of the year at the Grammys.
In recent months, Monae hasn’t been afraid of risque looks and nudity. She revealed herself during an event celebrating the release of her single “Lipstick Lover” and again onstage at an Essence Music Festival set — which drew some social media criticism including from singer India Arie and rapper Uncle Luke. She also attended the 2023 Met Gala in a barely-there outfit.
For Monae, this is her time to be free.
Monae spoke recently with The Associated Press about her supportive mother, side-stepping criticism and teasing her upcoming North American tour, which kicks off Aug. 30 in Seattle. Other tour stops include New York and Nashville and she’ll wrap in Los Angeles in mid-October.
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AP: Since you haven’t toured since 2019, was your recent Essence Festival performance a tune up for your upcoming tour?
MONAE: Yeah, we’re testing out the songs. You‘re getting them in your body. Right now, we don’t have a lot of muscle memory with the new songs. We haven’t toured them. I know if you come into the show, you’ll love the songs. But hearing them live is a different experience, especially when you’re putting them with songs from previous work. We’re basically just putting a show together based on what we feel is good. Sometimes you just don’t know until you get on stage.
AP: What do you want people to take away from your show?
MONAE: Tap into your free (expletive) energy. That’s rooted in self-love — not arrogance. Tap into that space and then take care of each other. That’s what I hope. With the shows that I do, and when I look out, it’s an experience. It’s like our own church. You want to take care of each other.
Even if your freedom doesn’t look like that person’s freedom, you understand that we’re fighting against something much bigger than us. We’re systemically fighting against something much bigger than us, so we got to band together, we got to stick together. We have to make sure that we’re showing up for each other. If we have privilege in certain areas, making sure that we’re lending a hand, lending a voice, amplifying a message.
AP: How has it been to walk in your truth while facing criticism about your racy performances from people like Arie and Uncle Luke?
MONAE: That has absolutely nothing to do with me. I love everybody. I’m in the age of pleasure.
AP: When did you feel comfortable with living life the way you want without caring about others’ opinions?
MONAE: It’s not like I don’t care what people think. I care what some people think. I don’t care what everybody thinks. That’s the same when it comes to music. When you make a new song, I can’t go soliciting everybody’s opinions about the song. By the time I get back to the second pass of it, it’s all over the place. Everybody’s going to have an opinion. For me, it’s like, whose voice do I trust? Who do I know that loves me, cares about me, whose taste do I like, who actually is evolved enough to even understand what it is that I’m doing? Who understands nuance?
You shouldn’t care what anybody has to say. You just care what the right people have to say and everything else is muted.
AP: Who are those right people for you?
MONAE: Family. Close friends.
AP: In your journey, your mother has been a huge supporter. Whenever you have fallen under certain criticisms, how has she helped you navigate the critics?
MONAE: My mom is like ride or die. I have to tell her like “Mom, you don’t need to defend me. You don’t need to defend my life or my decisions.” For her, I’m her baby. Like any mama bear, you might get punched in the eye if you say something. You might. But I’ve calmed her down over the years. For the most part, we mostly respond to love. It’s a lot of people that love where I am and who I am and what I’m doing, and they feel really empowered and inspired by it, and that makes my mom proud, and it makes me happy.
AP: How do you avoid the naysayers?
MONAE: I’m too busy living life to be distracted. The positive things are always amazing too, but I also don’t go fishing for that. One of the things about being in the age of pleasure is being present and making sure that I’m dipping in on social media, saying what I need to say, showing love, saying “thank you,” putting up my art and leaving, going to go create more things and make more memories and more experiences.
I’m in the middle of putting together a tour for North America. We haven’t been on tour since 2019. For me, I have a lot of things that keep me busy. I’m practicing guitar. I’m having the best sex of my life. I’m happy. Even in the middle of all that’s going on in this world, I’m finding time to steal joy and to center joy and to stay surrounded by the people that bring me joy and that I can bring joy too.
AP: How did “Age of Pleasure” define where you are in life?
MONAE: I wanted to create a soundtrack to our lifestyle. I think this album like all my albums reflect exactly where I am at that time. Each album will let you know where I was in my evolution process, what things I had to unlearn, what things I learned. I love that. I love that you can always look at an artist working, sort of see what they were on at that time.
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‘I’ll be able to walk again’: 6-year-old shot in road rage incident confident about her future
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE/Gray News) – A 6-year-old’s life may be changed forever after she was shot in the back during a road rage incident on July 10, but that’s not crushing the young girl’s spirit.
Onyx, 6, was in the car with her family when a road rage incident with a group of motorcyclists in Kentucky led to a shooting.
A bullet went through the girl’s back and she had to have emergency surgery.
Onyx has been recovering since and may never walk again. Being in a wheelchair is her new reality.
“I really liked going through the hallways to test it out,” Onyx said, talking about her wheelchair. “I wanted to do it again and then I did.”
The 6-year-old who just wants to dance and play is finding comfort in doing donuts in her wheelchair.
Onyx said she remembers leaving the park on July 10, getting in the car and the moment when she was shot.
“I remember getting carried into the hospital,” she recalled.
Those chain of events left Onyx’s mother, Chyna Sands, with the task of telling her daughter her new reality.
Sands said she told Onyx the bullet severed her back and she can’t use her legs like she used to – a conversation that is still setting in for the young girl.
She’s had to explain to Onyx that she must be in a wheelchair because she can’t walk.
But Onyx didn’t let this get her down too much. She said she is tired of people saying what she can’t do. To her, she has no doubt about what the future holds.
“I’ll be able to walk again, I know I will,” Onyx said with confidence. “I believe that I will be able to walk again.”
That mindset is what Sands says keeps her going.
As of right now, no one has been charged for the shooting which keeps Sands on edge.
“They want me to be patient, but I am out of patience,” Sands said. “I would like to see justice for an innocent 6-year-old who was minding her own business.”
While those responsible are out free, small things like getting into a car are now triggers of trauma.
“Because I got shot in the back, and I’m a little bit scared to get in the car because it brings back the memories,” Onyx said.
Hearing Onyx say that is a hard pill to swallow for a mother that loves to travel everywhere with her daughter.
“As her mom, I’m used to being her superhero,” Sands said. “I fix all of her problems and that’s something that I can’t fix.”
Copyright 2023 WAVE via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment complex and a university building in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown Monday, killing six people and wounding 75 others as the blasts trapped residents beneath rubble, Ukrainian officials said.
One of the two missiles that hit the central city of Kryvyi Rih destroyed part of an apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Video showed black smoke billowing from corner units and burned out or damaged cars on a tree-lined street.
The dead included a 10-year-old girl and her mother, according to Zelenskyy. More than 350 people were involved in the rescue operation, he said in a Telegram post.
The morning attack also destroyed part of a four-story university building.
The strike on Zelenskyy’s hometown, which has been hit in the past, happened a day after the Ukrainian president seemed to warn of more attacks inside Russia.
“Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia — to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process,” Zelenskyy said Sunday in his nightly video address.
It was not clear whether the missile strikes were in retaliation for his comments.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian artillery strike on the partially occupied Donetsk province killed two people and wounded six others in the regional capital, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the illegally annexed province.
A bus was also hit as Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Donetsk multiple times Monday, Pushilin said.
Elsewhere, in the Russian-held part of the Zaporizhzhia region, three people were killed and 15 wounded in Ukrainian shelling that hit a store in the village of Basan, according to the Russia-backed acting regional governor Yevgeny Balitsky.
Neither side’s claims could be independently verified.
A recent Ukrainian counteroffensive, deploying weaponry supplied by Kyiv’s Western allies and aimed at driving Russian forces out of occupied areas, intensified last week. At the same time, Ukraine has sought to take the war deep into Russia, reportedly using drones to hit targets as far away as Moscow.
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia and Moscow-annexed territory, especially Crimea, have become more frequent. The latest strike, on Sunday, damaged two office buildings a few miles (kilometers) from the Kremlin. Ukrainian officials did not acknowledge the attack.
Russia tightened security in the aftermath of that attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, describing the assault as an “act of desperation.”
“The Kyiv regime is in a very, very difficult situation,” Peskov said, “as the counteroffensive is not working out as planned.”
“It’s obvious that the multibillion-dollar resources that have been transferred by NATO countries to the Kyiv regime are actually being spent inefficiently,” Peskov said.
“This raises big questions in Western capitals and great discomfort among taxpayers in Western countries.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, analysts say, is wagering that Western support for Kyiv will wane as the war drags on and costs mount.
Another Ukrainian drone targeted a district police department early Monday in Russia’s Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, but there were no casualties, the local governor said.
Bombarding populated areas with missiles, artillery and drones has been a hallmark of Moscow’s military strategy throughout the war, and that approach has continued during the Ukrainian counteroffensive that started in June.
Russian officials insist they take aim only at legitimate military targets, but Ukraine and its supporters say mass civilian deaths during previous attacks are evidence of war crimes.
“In recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing,” Zelenskyy said. “But this terror will not frighten us or break us.”
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday that his forces have increased the intensity of attacks on Ukrainian military facilities.
It was not immediately clear which military facilities he was referring to, as Russia’s recent missile strikes have hit civilian infrastructure.
In the southern city of Odesa, Russian strikes in recent weeks targeted port infrastructure and grain silos, after Moscow broke off an export agreement for Ukrainian grain. The Ukrainian foreign ministry estimated Monday that about 180,000 metric tons of grain have been destroyed by Russia in the past nine days.
Russian shelling Monday also killed four civilians and wounded 17 in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. A 70-year-old woman was killed by shelling in her home in a Kharkiv province village near Izyum, authorities said.
In eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk province, one person was reported killed and seven people were injured after Russia shelled 12 cities and villages, according to Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko.
In other developments Monday, China introduced restrictions on the export of long-range civilian drones. Authorities cited the war in Ukraine and concern that drones could be converted for military purposes.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government is friendly with Moscow, but says it’s neutral in the war. It has been stung by reports that both sides might be using Chinese-made drones for reconnaissance and possibly attacks.
Meanwhile, Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said Monday that his Wagner Group is not currently recruiting fighters.
In an audio message published on a Telegram channel associated with the Wagner chief, Prigozhin said the company had suspended recruitment as there is currently “no shortage of personnel.”
Prigozhin previously agreed with Western estimates that he lost more than 20,000 men in the long battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
Prigozhin last month led a short-lived mutiny against Moscow, demanding a leadership change in the Russian military. In an attempt to control him, Russian authorities insisted that Wagner fighters can only return to Ukraine if they join Russia’s regular army.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:18
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Denver Broncos wide receiver K.J. Hamler was diagnosed with "mild heart irritation" called pericarditis, he announced via Instagram, Monday.
In light of the medical condition, the Broncos are reportedly planning to waive him on a non-football illness designation. The move is procedural, with hopes to bring him back, according to a report from NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.
He's reportedly expected to be to miss weeks, not months with the condition.
As noted by Garafalo, the move to waive Hamler allows for his return, whereas placing him on reserve or the non-football injury list could prevent him from playing for the entire season. The team also needs the roster spot with wide receiver Tim Patrick also sidelined with an Achilles injury.
This story will be updated with more information shortly.
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NEW YORK (AP) — When actor Casey Likes watched “Back to the Future” growing up, his mom would always say he reminded her a lot of the film’s star, Michael J. Fox. Something in the universe agrees: He’s taken on Fox’s classic movie role on Broadway.
The rising stage star plays Marty McFly for a musical adaptation of the beloved 1985 sci-fi comedy about a time-traveling duo who go back to the 1950s in a souped-up, gull-winged DeLorean.
“I remember growing up and just really, really loving the film. It kind of sat in that realm of like ‘E.T.’ and ‘Close Encounters’ — movies that came at a time when film was magical,” says Likes, 21. “I hope we accomplish something kind of similar with Broadway.”
The show, which won the Olivier Award for best new musical last year in London, arrives at the Winter Garden Theatre this summer with a story by Bob Gale, who previously co-created and co-wrote the movie with Robert Zemeckis. It hews very closely to the original, including having a DeLorean onstage and the shout “Great Scott!”
Broadway veteran and Tony Award-winner Roger Bart takes on Christopher Lloyd’s role of Doc Brown, the oddball scientist with a knack for inventions. Bart recalls seeing “Back to the Future” in his early 20s when it first appeared in movie theaters. He watched with three friends from theater school and they were all secretly jealous of Fox.
“None of my friends — even knowing each other as well as we did — none of them, including my mother, ever nudged me and said, ‘No, no, kid. You’re Doc Brown. Just be patient,’” the Tony-winner says laughing.
Like the film, the musical centers on Marty McFly traveling back to his hometown in 1955. Once there, he gets caught up in the soap opera lives of his own teenage parents, including his mom, who develops a crush on her future son. He must reconnect mom and dad or he risks disappearing from history.
“We feel like it’s very important – I’m sure Casey would agree — for the public to come to the show and recognize that they are seeing that story in a different form but with all of its charms very deeply intact,” says Bart, whose Broadway credits include “The Producers,” “Disaster!” and “Young Frankenstein.”
New songs have been crafted by the film’s composer Alan Silvestri and songwriter and producer Glen Ballard. Some Huey Lewis and the News songs from the movie also have been included, like the theme tune “The Power of Love” and “Back in Time,” as well as Marty McFly’s futuristic rendition of “Johnny B. Goode.”
“We go back to the ‘50s, you get some songs that sound like ’Grease,’ like ‘Bye Bye Birdie.’ And then we have some ‘80s moments in there that are very ’Footloose,’” says Likes. “It feels kind of like the greatest hits of not only rock ‘n’ roll, but of musical theater.”
While both men are fans of the films — and both got to meet the original stars at a gala last week — neither Bart nor Likes want to straightjacket themselves into the way Fox and Lloyd performed their roles.
“I don’t want to impersonate the movie. I want to remind you of the movie,” says Likes, who made his Broadway debut last year as the Cameron Crowe-inspired lead character of the musical “Almost Famous.”
“There’s a lot of things that Roger is doing that are similar, and there’s a lot of things that I’m doing that hopefully are similar to Michael. But we’re really just reminding you of their brilliance. Hopefully, at the same time, you’re able to kind of go along the journey with our Marty and Doc.”
In addition to being a cultural touchstone, “Back to the Future” was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry and the American Film Institute listed it as the No. 10 best science-fiction film. Bart thinks the movie’s staying power is because it manages to straddle many worlds.
There’s a time travel story and one about getting to know your parents as peers. There’s a love story between Marty’s parents and there’s also a buddy movie — Marty and Doc putting their friendship on the line.
“Between all of these elements, it answers so many of the things that we love about that era of moviemaking and storytelling,” says Bart. “I think that’s one of the reasons why it is has sort of stuck around so long.”
Not to mention the fact that audiences can appreciate the story at different parts of their lives. Kids can enjoy the thrills and special effects; adults can be moved by the notion of meeting their own moms and dads. “Part of its sustaining power is the fact that it can mean one thing at one age and another at another,” says Bart.
Likes also adds another reason: Marty initially only wants to get back to his own time period to reconnect with his girlfriend. But his reasons start to change — save Doc, save his family, save the world.
“As the show goes on, there’s more stacked up reasons as to why he has to get back. And I think that’s a really interesting thing to think about in our own life,” he says. “What would be our reasons to to get back to our current life?”
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Mark Kennedy can be reached at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:19
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief on Monday welcomed Kenya’s offer to “positively consider” leading a multinational police force to help combat Haiti’s gangs and improve security in the violence-wracked Caribbean nation.
Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry sent an urgent appeal last October for “the immediate deployment of a specialized armed force, in sufficient quantity” to stop the gangs. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has been appealing unsuccessfully since then for a lead nation to help restore order to Latin America’s most impoverished country.
Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday said its offer includes a commitment to send 1,000 police to help train and assist the Haitian National Police “restore normalcy in the country and protect strategic installations.” The ministry said it was responding to a request from the Friends of Haiti group of nations.
“Kenya stands with persons of African descent across the world, including those in the Caribbean, and aligns with the African Union’s diaspora policy and our own commitment to Pan Africanism, and in this case to `reclaiming of the Atlantic crossing,’” the ministry said.
Haiti’s gangs have grown in power since the July 7, 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and are now estimated to control up to 80% of the capital. The surge in killings, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by civilian vigilante groups.
U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Guterres “welcomes Kenya’s positive response to his call” and expresses gratitude to Kenya for its “solidarity.”
The secretary-general calls on the U.N. Security Council to support a non-U.N. multinational operation in Haiti “and encourages member states, particularly from the region, to join forces from Kenya” in supporting the country’s police, Haq said.
Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said its proposed deployment will crystalize once the Security Council adopts a resolution giving a mandate for the force, and other Kenyan constitutional processes are undertaken.
A Kenyan task force plans to undertake an assessment mission to Haiti within the next few weeks which “will inform and guide the mandate and operational requirements of the mission,” it said.
Guterres, who visited Haiti in early July, called afterward for a robust international force to help the Haitian National Police “defeat and dismantle the gangs.”
He said the estimate by the U.N. independent expert for Haiti, William O’Neill, that up to 2,000 additional anti-gang police officers are needed is no exaggeration. O’Neill, who concluded a 10-day trip to Haiti in July, is an American lawyer who has been working on Haiti for over 30 years and helped establish the Haitian National Police in 1995.
The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on July 14 asking Guterres to come up with “a full range of options” within 30 days to help combat Haiti’s armed gangs, including a non-U.N. multinational force, a possible U.N. peacekeeping force, additional training for the Haitian National Police and providing support to combat illegal arms trafficking to the country.
Compounding the gang warfare, which has spread outside the capital, is the country’s political crisis: Haiti was stripped of all democratically elected institutions when the terms of the country’s remaining 10 senators expired in early January.
The Security Council resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and Ecuador, “strongly urges” all countries to prohibit the supply, sale or transfer of weapons to anyone supporting gang violence and criminal activities.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Kenyan President William Ruto on Monday including about Kenya’s positive consideration to leading a multinational force in Haiti, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
The United States takes over the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council for August on Tuesday, and Miller said the U.S. and Ecuador, as a first step, are going to introduce a resolution to authorize a non-U.N. multinational mission.
The second step is an assessment mission by Kenya, “which they plan to do in the coming days,” and then there will be talks with other countries about what additional assistance is needed, he said.
“We are committed to finding the resources to support this multinational force,” Miller said. “We’ve been a large humanitarian donor to relief efforts in Haiti for some time, and we have worked behind the scenes to find the lead nation to run this multinational force and are pleased that that has been successful.”
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Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report from Washington and Evelyne Musambi from Nairobi
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:24
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ESPN's ongoing talent shakeup is expected to produce a dramatically revamped A team for its NBA broadcasts.
Per the New York Post's Andrew Marchand, the network has laid off longtime analyst Mark Jackson and is planning to promote analyst Doris Burke to call games alongside lead play-by-play man Mike Breen. It's also expected to hire Doc Rivers to complete the three-person team that anchors the network's NBA Finals coverage.
Rivers has spent the last 24 seasons as an NBA head coach, but remains without work after being fired by the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason. He would join Burke in replacing Jeff Van Gundy, who was laid off last month amid a wave of high-profile talent cuts at the network.
Jackson worked alongside Breen and Van Gundy for 15 seasons across two stints starting in 2006.
The moves would mark a return for Rivers to the NBA Finals broadcast booth after a stint with ABC in 2004. Rivers called the Finals that year alongside Al Michaels after he was fired as the head coach of the Orlando Magic early that same season. His broadcast stint was brief, though. Rivers returned to NBA sidelines the following season as the head coach of the Boston Celtics, whom he coached to an NBA championship five seasons later.
The promotion of Burke would be a historic one. She's previously worked the NBA Finals as a sideline reporter and has long been a game analyst for ESPN, most recently alongside Jones on the network's B team. If promoted, she would be the first woman to call NBA Finals games on network TV.
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:25
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — This year Whitney Houston would have turned 60, and a special celebration to raise money for a good cause is being planned for her birthday.
Houston’s estate, Sony and Primary Wave Music will host the 2nd annual Whitney Houston Legacy of Love on Aug. 9, which will benefit the late singer’s foundation aimed at helping young people.
Houston’s close friends BeBe Winans and Kim Burrell will perform at the gala at Atlanta’s St. Regis Hotel, as will Whitney’s brother, Gary, who toured with her for three decades.
“When I turned 50, Whitney gave me two celebrations — one in Ireland and one in London. I always tell everyone now that one of them was for her,” says Pat Houston, Whitney Houston’s sister-in-law and the executor of her estate. Houston died in February 2012 at age 48. “This year is Whitney at 60 — we’re all looking forward to being a part of the power of love in that room.”
Houston found the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children in 1989 with the goal of empowering youth, providing resources to unhoused children, giving out college scholarships, and raising funds for charities like the Children’s Defense Fund and St. Jude Children’s Research.
A charity auction will raise money for the foundation, which is now called the Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation.
“We’re going to auction off a beautiful lavender dress Dolly Parton wore when she sang ‘I Will Always Love You’ at Country Music Television’s ‘100 Greatest Love Songs of Country Music’ special in 2004,” says Pat Houston. “This dress is particularly special because it’s lavender, and lavender is Whitney’s favorite color.”
The song, originally written by Parton, was recorded by Houston and became one of her great, everlasting hits. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it diamond early last year, which means the track has sold and streamed 10 million equivalent units in the United States. It became her first diamond single, and made Houston the third woman to ever achieve diamond-status with both a single and an album, following Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift.
Clive Davis will serve as honorary chairman. Recording Academy President Harvey Mason jr. is scheduled to attend. Also expected are Gamma’s Larry Jackson and Whitney Houston’s musical director Rickey Minor.
“I always tell people, Whitney is the star,” Pat Houston said. “Everybody in that room is royalty, but she’s loyalty — and she’s still showing that.”
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:27
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Another day, another billion dollar lottery jackpot.
At least, that’s how it seems ahead of Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing for an estimated $1.05 billion top prize.
It’s a huge sum of money, but such giant jackpots have become far more common, with five prizes topping $1 billion since 2021 — and one jackpot reaching $2.04 billion in 2022.
The massive prizes are due in part to chance, but it’s not all happenstance. Rising interest rates coupled with changes to the odds of winning are also big reasons the prizes grow so large.
HOW DO INTEREST RATES INCREASE JACKPOTS?
Nearly all jackpot winners opt for a lump sum payout, which for Tuesday night’s drawing would be an estimated $527.9 million. The lump sum is the cash that a winner has actually won. The highlighted $1.05 billion prize is for a sole winner who is paid through an annuity, which is funded by that lump sum and will be doled out annually over 30 years.
That’s where the higher interest rate becomes a factor, because the higher the interest rate, the larger the annuity can grow over three decades. The U.S. is in the midst of a remarkable run of interest rate increases, with the Federal Reserve raising a key rate 11 times in 17 months, and that higher rate enables a roughly $500 million lump sum prize to be advertised as a jackpot of about twice that size.
HOW DOES THE ANNUITY WORK?
A winner who chooses the annuity option would receive an initial payment and then 29 annual payments that rise by 5% each year. Opting for an annuity has some tax advantages, as less of the winnings would be taxed at the top federal income tax rate of 37%. It also could be an option for winners who don’t trust themselves to manage so much money all at once.
If lottery winners die before 30 years, the future payments would go to their beneficiaries.
WHY DO WINNERS SNUB THE ANNUITY OPTION?
The annuities pay out big money, but not nearly as big as taking the lump sum.
For example, a sole winner of Tuesday night’s Mega Millions could choose a lump sum of an estimated $527.9 million or an initial annuity payment of about $15.8 million. Of course, those annuity payments would continue for decades and gradually increase until the final check paid about $65.1 million, according to lottery officials.
In both cases, the winnings would be subject to federal taxes, and many states also tax lottery winnings.
Given all that, nearly all jackpot winners think they could make more money by investing the money themselves, or they simply want the biggest initial payout possible.
WHAT ABOUT THE ODDS OF WINNING?
That’s another factor that has created so many huge prizes for those who match all six numbers.
In 2015, the Powerball odds were changed from 1 in 175.2 million to 1 in 292.2 million. Mega Millions took a similar action in 2019 by lengthening the game’s odds from 1 in 258.9 million to 1 in 302.6 million.
For lottery officials, the hope was that by making it harder to win jackpots, the prizes would roll over for weeks and create truly massive pots of money that would in turn generate higher sales.
The result is that all of the billion dollar jackpots have come after the changes in the odds.
HOW LONG UNTIL THERE IS A WINNER?
Luck remains a big factor, as the odds of any ticket being a winner never changes. However, the more people who play Mega Millions, the more of the potential 302.6 million number combinations are covered.
For the last Mega Millions drawing on Friday night, 20.1% of possible number combinations were purchased. Typically, the larger the jackpot grows, the more people buy tickets and the more potential combinations are covered.
Tuesday night’s drawing will be the 30th since the last jackpot winner. That is inching closer to the longest Mega Millions jackpot drought, which reached 37 drawings from Sept. 18, 2020, to Jan. 22, 2021.
The longest jackpot run was for a Powerball prize that stretched over 41 drawings and ended with a record $2.04 billion prize on Nov. 7, 2022.
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The top federal tax bracket has been corrected to 37%.
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:30
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The Pro Football Hall of Fame will formally welcome its Class of 2023 on Saturday. This week, Yahoo Sports is highlighting each member of the nine-man class, leading up to the big ceremony.
Although Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Ken Riley was never selected to play in an AFL All-Star Game or a Pro Bowl after the AFL and NFL merger, his impact on the game went beyond those accolades.
A four-year starter in college, Riley was a quarterback at Florida A&M who brought the Rattlers to three Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles and a 23-7 record. He also shined academically, earning Rhodes Scholar candidacy.
Riley was selected in the sixth round of the 1969 Common Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, where he would spend all 15 years of his professional career. Hall of Fame head coach Paul Brown converted Riley to a cornerback since the Bengals selected quarterback Greg Cook with the fifth overall pick of the draft.
"We were stereotyped then," Riley told The Ledger in 2008 of Black players. "Everything down the middle — the quarterback, the center, the middle linebacker — those positions required thinking, so they didn't put us there."
However, Riley excelled at his new position.
Riley’s impact on defense was clear — he made his first career interception in his fifth game.
"Kenny was a splendid player and still holds the Bengals record for most interceptions over a career," team owner Mike Brown said in 2022. "It would be a wonderful thing if he were selected for the Hall of Fame."
Riley's team record of 65 career interceptions has yet to be broken. He also held other Bengals records, such as most seasons played (15) and most interceptions in a single season (nine).
"I don't know how you put a number on intelligence," Riley's former Cincinnati teammate Cris Collinsworth said. "And I don't know how many touchdowns he saved the Bengals because he knew what was coming."
"Ken showed tremendous leadership as a student and a quarterback," Florida A&M Sports Hall of Fame chairman Alvin Hollins said to the Tallahassee Democrat in 2020. "The only regret is that he didn't get in the Pro Football Hall of Fame before he passed. Several of the players he coached made it to the NFL. We had great success with him as a coach and athletics director."
After his retirement from the NFL, Riley spent two years with the Green Bay Packers as an assistant coach. He eventually returned to his alma mater and served as Florida A&M's head coach from 1986-1993, earning two MEAC conference titles. Riley also served as FAMU's athletic director from 1994-2004.
He died in 2020 at the age of 72 from a heart attack.
Although this honor comes after his death, Riley believed that his work would eventually speak for itself. He never complained or sought public recognition.
"Your work speaks for you," Riley once said about the possibility of receiving the honor. "If it's God's will, maybe one day it will happen."
Riley’s widow, Barbara, will represent him in Canton when he is officially enshrined.
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:31
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) rolled out his economic policy plan at a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Monday, dubbing the plan “a declaration of economic independence.”
“We will declare our economic independence from the failed elites that have orchestrated American decline, from the reckless federal spending that has inflated prices and plunged this nation to the brink of bankruptcy,” DeSantis told a crowd in Rochester, N.H., at Prep Partners Group, which handles logistics, including warehousing and distribution for companies.
The plan particularly takes aim at China by putting an end to the country’s preferential trade status and banning import goods made by stolen intellectual property.
The 10-part economic plan includes getting to 3 percent growth, making America energy independent, reining in the Federal Reserve, pushing back on “wasteful federal spending” and reforming the education system for working-class Americans.
The Democratic National Committee was quick to attack DeSantis over the plan, dubbing it “extreme.”
“It remains a mystery why DeSantis would try to reboot his dumpster fire of a campaign by promising to bring his failures as governor nationwide, but by all means, we welcome Republicans to continue reminding the American people how catastrophic the MAGA agenda is for the economy,” said Ammar Moussa, a spokesperson for the DNC.
Last week DeSantis’s campaign declared a “reset” in a memo to donors, noting that the themes of its “Great American Comeback” message will be the economy, border, China and culture.
However, polling still shows DeSantis in second place behind former President Trump, with a new New York Times/Siena College survey showing the former president leading the Florida governor by 37 points.
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ATLANTA (AP) — The first new U.S. nuclear reactor to be built from scratch in decades is sending electricity reliably to the grid, but the cost of the Georgia power plant could make it a dead end instead of a path to a carbon-free future.
Georgia Power Co. announced Monday that Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta, has completed testing and is now in commercial operation, seven years late and $17 billion over budget.
At its full output of 1,100 megawatts of electricity, Unit 3 can power 500,000 homes and businesses. A number of other utilities in Georgia, Florida and Alabama are receiving the electricity, in addition to the 2.7 million customers of Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power.
“This hadn’t been done in this country from start to finish in some 30-plus years,” Chris Womack, CEO of Atlanta-based Southern Co. said Monday in a telephone interview. “So to do this, to get this done, to get this done right, is a wonderful accomplishment for our company, for the state and for the customers here in Georgia.”
A fourth reactor is also nearing completion at the site, where two earlier reactors have been generating electricity for decades. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday said radioactive fuel could be loaded into Unit 4, a step expected to take place before the end of September. Unit 4 is scheduled to enter commercial operation by March.
The third and fourth reactors were originally supposed to cost $14 billion, but are now on track to cost their owners $31 billion. That doesn’t include $3.7 billion that original contractor Westinghouse paid to the owners to walk away from the project. That brings total spending to almost $35 billion.
The third reactor was supposed to start generating power in 2016 when construction began in 2009.
Vogtle is important because government officials and some utilities are again looking to nuclear power to alleviate climate change by generating electricity without burning natural gas, coal and oil. But most focus in the U.S. currently is on smaller nuclear reactors, which advocates hope can be built without the cost and schedule overruns that have plagued Vogtle. For its part, Womack said Southern Co. isn’t looking to add any more reactors to its fleet.
“In terms of us making additional investments, at this time is not something that we’re going to do, but I do think others in this country should move in that direction,” Womack said.
In Georgia, almost every electric customer will pay for Vogtle. Georgia Power currently owns 45.7% of the reactors. Smaller shares are owned by Oglethorpe Power Corp., which provides electricity to member-owned cooperatives, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and the city of Dalton. Oglethorpe and MEAG plan to sell power to cooperatives and municipal utilities across Georgia, as well in Jacksonville, Florida, and parts of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
Georgia Power’s residential customers are projected to pay more than $926 apiece as part of an ongoing finance charge and elected public service commissioners have approved a rate increase. Residential customers will pay $4 more per month as soon as the third unit begins generating power. That could hit bills in August, two months after residential customers saw a $16-a-month increase to pay for higher fuel costs.
The high construction costs have wiped out any future benefit from low nuclear fuel costs in the future, experts have repeatedly testified before commissioners.
“The cost increases and schedule delays have completely eliminated any benefit on a life-cycle cost basis,” Tom Newsome, director of utility finance for the commission, testified Thursday in a Georgia Public Service Commission hearing examining spending.
The utility will face a fight from longtime opponents of the plant, many of whom note that power generated from solar and wind would be cheaper. They say letting Georgia Power make ratepayers pay for mistakes will unfairly bolster the utility’s profits.
“While capital-intensive and expensive projects may benefit Georgia Power’s shareholders who have enjoyed record profits throughout Vogtle’s beleaguered construction, they are not the least-cost option for Georgians who are feeling the sting of repeated bill increases,” Southern Environmental Law Center staff attorney Bob Sherrier said in a statement.
Commissioners will decide later who pays for the remainder of the costs of Vogtle, including the fourth reactor. Customers will pay for the share of spending that commissioners determine was prudent, while the company and its shareholders will have to pay for spending commissioners decide was wasteful.
Georgia Power CEO Kim Greene said the company hasn’t decided how much it will ask customers to pay.
“That will be determined as we move closer and closer to our prudence filing, but we have not made a final determination,” Greene said.
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| 2023-07-31T20:25:36
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Phoenix is expected to get another heatwave this week, after the city has already suffered under high temperatures that surpassed 110°F for a national-record of 31 consecutive days through Sunday.
While extreme heat affects everyone, the harms fall most on people experiencing homelessness and lower-income families who are more likely to lack access to air conditioning. Sitting or falling on the sidewalk is especially dangerous, because pavement absorbs heat and can reach temperatures of 180 in Phoenix, causing severe burns.
"Unhoused people accounted for about 40% of the 425 heat-associated deaths tallied last year in Maricopa County, home to Phoenix," the Associated Press recently reported.
"If this continues, we will see more heat-related deaths," Amy Schwabenlender, head of the Human Services Campus, a medical and social services center near "The Zone," an area where Phoenix's homeless population is clustered, told the news agency AFP earlier this month. "It is a life-and-death situation."
Unequal access to air conditioning is just one of the many ways that the growing effects of climate change have the biggest implications for the least advantaged. Here are some others.
Urban heat islands
More than 40 million Americans in cities are experiencing far more intense heat than those in rural areas thanks to urban "heat islands," according to an analysis released last week by the nonprofit research group Climate Central. Temperatures can be more than 8 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than in nearby rural environments.
Urban heat islands are created in cities where open land has been replaced with buildings, concrete sidewalks, paved parking lots and other materials that absorb and retain heat.
Due to fewer heat-reducing amenities like parks, yards and street trees, low-income neighborhoods and communities of color are more likely to be in severe heat islands. Baltimore's Franklin Square, a high-poverty, majority-Black neighborhood, is hotter than about two-thirds of the neighborhoods in the city and roughly 6 degrees hotter than Baltimore's coolest neighborhood, according to a 2019 investigation by NPR and the University of Maryland's Howard Center.
Outdoor work
Those in blue-collar occupations are far more likely to work outdoors in extreme heat. "Extreme heat poses a major health risk for outdoor workers, like UPS delivery people," Fortune reported last Friday. "Videos of drivers passing out have spread across social media."
As Voice of America noted last year, for many hourly workers, in the construction industry, even having the work day shortened in extreme heat has a downside, as it means lower earnings.
Wildfire smoke
Much of the northern United States has been dealing with air pollution caused by smoke drifting from hundreds of Canadian wildfires.
Low-income and communities of color have higher baseline rates of particle pollution because they are often near air pollution sources like highways and ports.
"Whether it's diesel trucks and buses in people's neighborhoods, commuter cars or power plants — there are a lot of communities that have already been impacted by air pollution," Sacoby Wilson, a public health professor at the University of Maryland, told Yahoo News last month. "This additional pollution from wildfires is making that situation worse."
This dangerous combination of brutal heat and wildfire smoke can lead to a variety of health effects ranging from asthma to reduced lung function, cardiovascular disease and death.
Flooding
Since warmer air holds more moisture, rainfall has been increasingly extreme in recent years, leading to flash floods like those that have recently killed residents of Pennsylvania, New Yorkand Vermont.
Due to lower-quality infrastructure, poorer communities are more vulnerable in floods. This is especially true in developing countries. Last September, flooding in Pakistan killed over 1,700 people, in part because buildings, roads and power lines are less fortified than in rich countries and weather tracking and emergency services are less advanced. (Flooding has already killed 55 Pakistanis this year.)
Last year, when flooding killed 13 New York City residents, 11 were in basement apartments. These often-cramped, illegal units are relatively affordable, due to their lack of light and air, but are more susceptible to flooding.
Sea-level rise caused by melting polar ice caps is also contributing to stronger hurricanes. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina the mortality rate among Black residents of Orleans Parish was up to 4 times as high as for white residents, according to the National Institute for Health, because many lower-income residents lacked the means to evacuate.
Solutions
Cities are beginning to address the threat from extreme heat. Eight cities around the world have appointed chief heat officers, including Miami, Los Angeles and Phoenix to coordinate heat preparedness and response.
Phoenix is opening air-conditioned cooling centers, arranging transportation to get the carless to them, and sending out volunteers with water bottles. It is also embarking on new strategies to reduce the urban heat island effect, such as painting pavement lighter colors that reflect heat instead of absorbing it.
To preserve access to air conditioning, some experts argue that utilities should be prevented from shutting electricity use for nonpayment in the summertime and that the federal government should subsidize electricity use for low-income households in the same way that it does home heating fuel.
"It's clear that we need to act now to develop a nationwide framework for climate adaptation to protect all vulnerable families from hotter summers, higher bills and more extreme weather events," Mark Wolfe and Cassandra Lovejoy, the co-directors of the Center on Energy Poverty, wrote last Thursday in CNN.
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https://www.wpxi.com/news/national/historic-heat-wave/MLNHZB6NQ6JDAXDIJZGCMDNIEU/
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Churchill Downs will implement safety measures for its September meet including new track surface maintenance equipment and additional monitoring and equine care following 12 horse deaths before and after the Kentucky Derby that spurred suspension of its spring meet.
Racing is scheduled to resume Sept. 14 and run through Oct. 1 at the historic track, which paused racing operations on June 7 to conduct an internal safety review following the spate of horse deaths from racing or training injuries. Seven died in the days leading up to the 149th Derby on May 6, including two in races preceding the premier event.
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority recommended suspending the remainder of the meet, which moved to Ellis Park in western Kentucky. Training continued at Churchill Downs during the investigation, and a release on Monday stated that while industry experts found no issues with the racing surfaces, the track invested in new maintenance equipment. It will also double the frequency of surface testing among infrastructure upgrades.
Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said the track’s commitment to safety “remains paramount” in the release and added, “our participants, fans and the public can be assured that we will continue to investigate, evaluate and improve upon every policy and protocol.”
The announcement comes days after Carstanjen said racing would resume this fall with no changes and called the deaths “a series of unfortunate circumstances” in an earnings call with CDI investors.
Churchill Downs veterinarians will receive additional resources for specialized horse care and to assist in pre-race inspections and entry screening, the release added. The track will work with HISA and industry experts to predict at-risk horses through advanced analytic techniques.
A safety management committee including horsemen, track employees and veterinarians will also be created.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-churchill-downs-to-improve-track-maintenance-veterinary-resources-for-fall-meet-after-horse-deaths/
| 2023-07-31T20:25:39
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PHOENIX (AP) — A hellish and historic 31-day run of temperatures cracking 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius) in Phoenix appeared headed for a welcome end on Monday, as monsoon rains moved through the region from Mexico.
The relief wasn’t all that great — the day’s highs were forecast near 108 degrees, or about 42 Celsius — and the heat was expected to rise past 110 again later in the week. But residents and visitors were taking what they could get.
“It’s not going to last more than a couple of days, but I’m enjoying this break,” said Christine Bertaux, 76, who was cooling off Monday at a downtown day center for older people who are homeless.
“It has been REALLY hot here!” said Jeffrey Sharpe, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, who was in town for a long weekend that on Monday included watching his son’s poodles frolic in a grassy dog park. “But today it was about 85 degrees, more like Wisconsin.”
High heat blasted much of the Southwest all through July, ranging from West Texas to eastern California. But Phoenix and its suburbs sweltered to new records, including three days where the high reached 119, and overnight lows stayed above 90 more than half the month. Concerts and other outdoor events were cancelled throughout the month because of the heat and busy parts of the city became ghost towns as people stayed indoors to avoid the heat.
Health officials have so far confirmed 25 heat-related deaths in Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous and home to Phoenix, in July, although that number seems certain to rise. Another 249 deaths are under investigation for links to heat.
Rudy Soliz, who manages the center where Bertaux was cooling off, said those who visit to get a meal and cool off out of the sun “have been having a very hard time this summer.”
“Older people have a harder time with the heat, there are a lot of diabetics, people who take medicines,” he said.
“The heat has been pretty bad this summer. We’ve made at least five 911 calls from here this July for people who got heat stroke,” said Soliz. “They’ve found a couple of bodies around here this month but it’s not clear yet if they died from the heat.”
Although there is no excessive warning for city, the National Weather Service said Phoenix residents should take precautions to stay cool and safe from the heat.
“Even though it’s going to be cooler than it has been, it’s still going to be warmer than normal. And the heat definitely can still affect a large portion of the population,” said Matthew Hirsch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix. “So we’re still urging people to take the necessary precautions, such as remaining hydrated and limiting outdoor activity.”
Phoenix’s previous record for days of 110 degrees or more was 18 straight, set in 1974, nearly two weeks shorter than the new record.
Hirsch said July 2023 was the city’s hottest month on record. The previous hottest month on record was August 2020.
And August could be even hotter than July, Hirsch said. He said there is a slightly higher chance of temperatures that are above normal in August and there’s an equal chance for the region to get more or less rain than average.
R. Glenn Williamson, a businessman who was born in Canada but has lived in Phoenix for years, said he really noticed a temperature difference Monday morning as he washed his car in his driveway.
“Now we have to get rid of the humidity!” Williamson said. “But honestly, I’d rather have this heat than a Montreal winter.”
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Costley reported from New Orleans.
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Follow Drew Costley on Twitter: @drewcostley.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/national-news/ap-forecast-calls-for-108-phoenix-will-take-it-as-record-breaking-heat-expected-to-end/
| 2023-07-31T20:25:44
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It’s Barbie’s world – and after the first week of the new Barbie movie – it’s clear we’re all just living in it.
In its opening weekend, director Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” smashed box office records with a $155 million debut.
The star-studded cast features leads Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling — along with an ensemble cast including America Ferrera, Issa Rae and Will Ferrell — whose performances are being praised by critics for transforming a film about a beloved children’s doll franchise into a thought-provoking experience about gender norms, double standards and identity.
The diverse film pays homage to Mattel’s efforts to ensure there’s a Barbie and Ken doll that represents different body types, nationalities, looks, and especially careers throughout history, both fans and critics of the franchise say.
But Barbie was not always as diverse as it may seem today. Upon its creation in 1959, the doll promoted a sense of feminism that was largely career-driven and encouraged self-expression. Despite changing with the times, Mattel has been criticized for its Barbies lacking diversity in terms of skin color, size, and not having dolls who represent “everyday” life. Whether or not Barbie fully reflects America’s diversity, many say her successes — and shortcomings — aren’t seen as important to the children who play with her. But many adults, especially parents, feel both the film and toy franchise is the representation they wished for as kids.
Chelsea Reynolds, a feminist media scholar and communications professor at Cal State Fullerton, acknowledged that Barbie has become more diverse in the last 40 years in terms of race, clothing, careers and body size. Today, there are dolls of 35 different skin tones, 97 different hairstyles, and nine different body types. There are Asian Barbies, Black Barbies in wheelchairs and Kens with vitiligo. Earlier this year, Mattel designed its first Barbie doll with Down syndrome.
However, Reynolds said, “I don’t think we see super plus-sized Barbie, I don’t think we see super dark-skinned Barbies specifically.”
Barbara Millicent Roberts was created by Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler, who noticed her daughter Barbara — for whom “Barbie” is named — enjoyed changing the clothes of her own paper dolls. So Handler created a more realistic adult doll with real clothes and more “human-like” functions.
Different versions of Barbie have evolved in nearly every cultural and political era, Reynolds said. In the 50s, she was an emancipating figure for the traditional stay-at-home “housewife,” and in the ’80s, she represented disco and punk. The first Black Barbie, Christie, was invented in 1968. Becky, the first doll in a wheelchair, was released in 1997.
Reynolds said that the toy “presented this new way of envisioning womanhood. Barbie wasn’t necessarily a mom. Barbie wasn’t necessarily only in a caretaking role. She was like this autonomous, independent woman who could be pretty much anything.”
Through the decades, the company’s many collections try to spotlight diversity — including “Dolls of the World,” featuring Barbies in cultural and traditional dress, and the ongoing “Global Sheroes” line honoring female icons from history. A 1981 “Oriental Barbie” was later ill-received.
In 2016, when dolls weren’t selling well, Mattel rolled out Barbies with different body types, hair textures and disabilities. But when the wheelchairs for Barbies with disabilities couldn’t fit through the Barbie DreamHouse, the doll was discontinued — undermining the company’s efforts for inclusive branding.
Concerned about the impact a lack of representation can have on a child’s self-esteem and empowerment, both Mattel and other toy companies have since created more “everyday”-looking dolls — including Healthy Roots and Jilly Bing — with features including smaller-shaped eyes and big curly hair.
And for first-generation, immigrant children, Reynolds said that those efforts, however imperfect, really matter. Barbie represents a “cultural notion of Americana that is important to many communities of color,” she said. And in the film, diverse Hollywood stars are cast as dolls that “purposely represent this new ‘Americana.’”
“This version of Barbie that Greta Gerwig presented was dismantling so many of the gender norms that I think we associate with dolls, and specifically with Barbie dolls, as girls’ toys,” Reynolds said. “I think that the way that patriarchy was challenged by Barbie in the movie is emblematic of what she has always done — giving women or girls the ability to imagine themselves in a society that is unlike the one that we live in.”
At a Barbie-themed storytime hosted by the Anaheim Public Library, there was no shortage of pink — the color the film most visually embraces. Parents at the event all agreed that it’s important for little girls and boys to have the mindset embodied in Mattel’s vast doll empire: “You Can Be Anything.”
Diana Fuentes, from Brea, said that children now have a wider selection of dolls on the shelves that look “just like them.” She praised how her 6-year-old daughter can play with Barbies that represent both her physical attributes and career dreams.
“I’m Hispanic, and if I see a doll that’s Hispanic, if I’m a child then I’m like, ‘Oh, that could be me one day,’” Fuentes said. “They put themselves in their shoes, so when (Barbie) doesn’t look like or resemble them, it’s harder for them to see themselves being that in the future.”
Sarah Martinez, from Buena Park, agreed that it’s important for kids to see toys that represent people they interact with daily; in their school, neighborhood and community. She remembered playing with Barbie in the ’90s with childhood friends.
“Our world didn’t have that,” she said, noting that she usually played with a brunette doll that reflected her hair type, but that was all.
Fourteen-year-old Ava Rodriguez said she watched the new movie with her family, and it reminded her how nice it is to have a doll that “looks like you, who you can relate with.” Playing with her Barbie when she was younger always made her feel like she could be anyone she wanted to be.
“When (my sister Gabby and I) were playing with Barbie, you were able to do anything, be in your own world, not have anyone tell you what to do,” Rodriguez said.
But some parents raised the question of whether representation in the Barbie doll franchise – much like many global companies’ efforts to diversify their brands – starts to feel inauthentic.
After the film’s release, Jason Munoz from Woodland Hills visited the new “World of Barbie” pop-up experience in Santa Monica with his family. He was more skeptical, calling out the franchise for leaning “too much” into ethnic stereotypes. He said that his daughters were looking to find a Barbie that reflects their Mexican heritage.
“When I see something that’s (branded) a Mexican Barbie, it has to have a Mexican dress, and that’s not an everyday Mexican person I see,” Munoz said. “They’re just like you and me… just normal people that live everyday lives.“
Reynolds, the feminist media scholar, was uncertain about whether the film’s casting was truly authentic.
“It’s hard to tell whether this movie is authentically representing diversity, or whether it’s meeting the industry quotas that have been established over the last few years,” she said. “I don’t know; I’m not mad to see it.”
Actor Issa Rae’s role as the Black female president of Barbieland, the film’s main setting, as well as the casting of one Asian American Ken — played by Simu Liu — and one curvy Barbie, played by Sharon Rooney, can be seen as “tokenizing” since both actors do not play prominent roles in the movie, Reynolds said.
“On the one hand, you can argue that’s representation. On the other hand, you can argue that maybe Greta Gerwig slapped a person into each role that fit the diversity model that Hollywood is looking for these days.”
Still, she said, the movie did a “tremendous job at getting complex topics like feminism and equity issues into the living rooms and homes around America.”
Mia Tustison from Corona won a Riverside County competition award in the spring for her Barbie-themed history project. She built a website that explores different perspectives surrounding Barbie — from inspiring women to be “more than what was expected of them,” to being glorified for her unrealistic body proportions — and its controversy.
The 14-year-old incoming freshman at Santiago High School said that Mattel’s efforts to build a more diverse toy line were mostly driven by sales. She watched the film with her family on opening weekend, wearing the brand’s signature pink.
Tustison highlighted the movie’s feminist-heavy message, but thought that its diversity is more reflected in its ensemble, not the starring roles. Still, she hoped the movie opens people’s eyes to be able to point out and “criticize things that are happening, things that are holding us back as a society.”
“I think (“Barbie” the movie) is not changing culture, with the way we look at diversity. That has already been shifting,” Tustison said. “I think it’s a reflection and commentary on that shift.”
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https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/31/barbies-latest-look-is-diverse-but-is-it-toying-with-fans/
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Several elevated ramps will be temporarily closed on the Baltimore Beltway and the “Triple Bridges” interchange on I-70 in Woodlawn for four separate nights in August and September for inspections.
The first closure is Wednesday from 10 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration advises drivers on I-70 and I-695 and near the interchange to plan for extra travel time and detours. All ramp closure and detour dates are weather-permitting, MDOT SHA said.
MDOT SHA contracted with Wagman Heavy Civil Inc. to perform the inspections, which plans to use digital message boards, temporary signs and barrels to safely guide drivers through the area.
Two ramps that will undergo repairs are located near a work zone where six construction workers were killed in March, when a driver entered the zone through a gap in concrete barriers north of Security Boulevard.
“The State Highway Administration understands temporary and ramp closures can be an inconvenience, but the work is necessary to maintain and improve the transportation system for all,” the agency said in a statement. “Drivers are asked to stay alert, stay focused, look for reduced speed limits as well as driving pattern changes, and slow down in construction zones.”
Closures and detours will occur on these dates:
- Wednesday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on I-695 exit 16A, the left ramp on northbound I-695 (inner loop) to west I-70 to Frederick.
- Thursday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on I-695 exit 16B, the left ramp on southbound I-695 (outer loop) to eastbound I-70 Local.
- September 20 from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on I-70 exit 91B, the left ramp eastbound I-70 to northbound I-695 (inner loop).
- September 21 from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on I-70 exit 91A, the right ramp westbound I-70 to southbound I-695 (outer loop) .
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https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-county/bs-md-co-baltimore-beltway-closure-triple-bridges-20230731-46tzktzw4vab7itghtjqahaauq-story.html
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https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-county/bs-md-co-baltimore-beltway-closure-triple-bridges-20230731-46tzktzw4vab7itghtjqahaauq-story.html
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Subscribe to The College Football Enquirer
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Dan Wetzel, Ross Dellenger & SI’s Pat Forde break down the fallout from last week’s news of Colorado leaving the Pac-12 for the Big 12.
Now that the dust has settled on Colorado’s exodus to the Big 12, the guys discuss which team could leave the Pac-12 next. The University of Arizona seems to be the most logical program to join a new conference, but the Pac-12 may not be willing to let another member go. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has shown his savvy this offseason by keeping his foot on the pedal to acquire talented programs so it doesn’t look like he will stop until the Big 12 has 14 teams.
A new article came out from University of Minnesota players critiquing PJ Fleck and the culture of the football program. The show dissects the article and determines how much weight it does and should carry. PJ Fleck is an interesting character for sure, but there doesn’t seem to be much evidence of a toxic environment for student athletes.
New Ohio State commit Aaron Scott, Jr. took a moment to troll Michigan fans during his recruitment video. Scott revealed an Ohio State jersey that was pulled out of a University of Michigan backpack, giving the Michigan faithful a quick glimmer of hope before taking it away.
Hugh Freeze had a big week on the recruiting trail with a couple highly touted prospects committing to Auburn, including flipping a 5-star wideout from Alabama. Aside from football, Freeze won the first golf flight at the Auburn University Club. After some extensive investigative journalism, the podcast deduces that Hugh Freeze may in fact be a very good golfer.
Lastly, an Ohio State player isn’t as focused on NIL money, but rather farming supplies.
1:00 - What is the Pac-12's next move?
23:56 Do the Minnesota Golden Gophers have a toxic program?
45:00 Aaron Scott Jr commits to Ohio State over Michigan
48:40 Auburn is recruiting exceptionally well in Alabama right now
57:39 Ohio State’s Cade Stover has a unique NIL request
Follow Dan @DanWetzel
Follow Pat @ByPatForde
Follow Ross @RossDellenger
Check out all the episodes of the College Football Enquirer and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
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https://www.wpxi.com/news/national/next-moves-pac-12/PZ4O62CEPGQWIJLX5ZTUDLQSNA/
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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell has been sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife. Vallow Daybell will serve three life sentences one after the other, the judge said.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.
At the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, Judge Steven W. Boyce said the search for the missing children, the discovery of their bodies and the evidence photos shown in court left law enforcement and jurors traumatized, and he would never be able to get images of the slain children out of his head.
A parent killing their own children “is the most shocking thing really that I can imagine,” Boyce said.
Vallow Daybell justified the murders by “going down a bizarre religious rabbit hole, and clearly you are still down there,” the judge said.
“I don’t think to this day you have any remorse for the effort and heartache you caused,” he said.
Boyce heard testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan.
“Tylee will never have the opportunity to become a mother, wife or have the career she was destined to have. JJ will never be able to grow and spread his light with the world the way he did,” Ryan wrote in a statement read by prosecuting attorney Rob Wood. “My siblings and father deserve so much more than this. I want them to be remembered for who they were, not just a spectacle.”
Ryan also wrote about his own grief.
“I’ve lost the opportunity to share life with the people I love the most. I have lost my sister, father, brother and my mother,” he wrote. “I pray for healing for everyone involved, including those who took the lives of everyone we loved.”
The murder scheme and Tammy Daybell’s death left a deep rift in her family, Tammy’s sister Samantha Gwilliam told the court.
“Why? Why plan something so heinous? You are not exalted beings, and your behavior makes you ineligible to be one,” Gwilliam said, referring to the unusual religious claims. “Because of the choices you made, my family lost a beloved mother, sister and daughter.”
Tammy Daybell’s mother was fighting cancer, and spent the last months of her life watching the murder trial, Gwilliam said. The family has also been hounded by media and others drawn by “all of the salacious scandal you stirred up,” Gwilliam told Vallow Daybell, who looked down as she sat between her defense attorneys.
“I miss my sister every day. I will grieve her, and the loss of my mother, every single day of my life,” Gwilliam said. “As for you, I choose to forget you and as I leave the courtroom here today, I choose to never think of you again.”
Boyce also heard from Vallow Daybell before handing down the sentence. She quoted Bible verses about how people should not judge each other. She said she too mourned the deaths of her children and Tammy Daybell but knew they would be together in the afterlife.
She claimed she is regularly visited by the spirits of her dead children, as well as the spirit of her “eternal friend,” Tammy Daybell, and suggested that the three weren’t murdered at all.
“Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case,” she said. “Accidental deaths happen. Suicides happen. Fatal side effects from medication happen.”
Wood pointed to the two Arizona cases as well as the three murders in six weeks in Idaho.
“A defendant who is willing to murder her own children is willing to murder anyone,” Wood said. “Society can only be protected from this defendant by a sentence of life in prison without parole.”
Vallow Daybell was committed multiple times for treatment to make her mentally competent for the court proceedings. But Wood said there is no evidence that her crimes were impacted by her “alleged mental illness” — which includes delusional disorder with grandiose features, according to reports referenced in court.
“The evidence is overwhelming that she did know right from wrong,” Wood said, noting testimony from several people who said she lied to them about the deaths.
In July 2019, Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self-defense. He was never charged and later died of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published writer of doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s yard the following summer.
During the trial, experts said Tylee appeared to have been stabbed and her body burned before it was buried in a pet cemetery, Wood said.
JJ’s head was wrapped in tape and plastic, asphyxiating him, Wood said, speculating that his last thoughts must have “been filled with fear and betrayal.”
Tammy Daybell’s body was bruised, suggesting she fought back as she was asphyxiated in her bed, Wood said.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy, was killed. Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his “weird” apocalyptic religious claims. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a “sexual goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into “zombies,” including JJ and Tylee.
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-in-deaths-of-2-children-and-her-romantic-rival/
| 2023-07-31T20:25:46
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-in-deaths-of-2-children-and-her-romantic-rival/
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At about summer’s halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say.
Killer heat. Deadly floods. Smoke from wildfires that chokes.
And there’s no relief in sight.
Expect a hotter than normal August and September, American and European forecast centers predict.
“We are seeing unprecedented changes all over the world,” said NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt. “The heat waves that we’re seeing in the U.S. and in Europe, in China are demolishing records left, right and center. This is not a surprise.”
Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto said examining what’s causing heat waves is “boring” in a way since it keeps happening. Yet she added that it matters “because it shows again just how much climate change plays a role in what we are currently experiencing.”
“This story, these impacts, are going to continue,” Schmidt said. “We’re going to be seeing this pretty much this year and into next year” with a natural El Nino warming of the Pacific adding to the overwhelming influence of human-caused climate change largely from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
Here’s a rundown of the summer of Earth’s discontent.
RECORD-SHATTERING HEAT
Globally, June this year was the hottest June on record — and scientists say July has been so hot that even before the month was over they could say it was the hottest month on record. But it’s individual places where people live that the heat has stuck around and killed.
Phoenix, where the last day of June and each day of July has been at least 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius), set records for the longest mega-heat streak and longest stretch when the temperatures didn’t go below 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) at night.
El Paso, Texas, had 44 days of 100 degree (37 degree) heat. Schools closed in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico a month earlier than usual as temperatures reached 113 degrees (45 Celsius).
Farther east, Miami added humidity to high heat for 46 straight days of feels-like temperatures of 100 or more.
Beijing had its own record streak with at least 27 days of 95 degrees (35 Celsius) in July, after a three-day streak of at least 104 (40 Celsius) in June. And the country set it’s all-time highest temperature on July 16 in remote Sanbao township with 126 degrees (52.2 Celsius).
Heat records fell all over southern Europe. Sardinia, Italy, hit 117 (47 Celsius). Palermo in Sicily broke a record that goes back to 1791 by a whopping 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius). Temperatures hit 115 (46 Celsius) in Gytheio, Greece.
Spain reported nearly 1,000 excess deaths from the heat, mostly among the elderly, by mid July.
In Argentina, where it’s mid-winter, temperatures were above 89.6 (32 Celsius) four straight days in June in the northern part of the county. One July night in Buenos Aires didn’t get below the 70s (low 20s Celsius).
TOO MUCH RAIN
More than 10,000 people had to be evacuated in central Hunan province in China where heavy rainfall caused at least 70 houses to collapse. In Yichang, rain triggered a landslide that buried a construction site and killed at least one person.
Australia’s Queensland outback got 13 times its normal monthly July rain in just one day.
Thousands of people were evacuated from Delhi in India as rains caused flash floods and landslides. Elsewhere in the country at least 100 people were killed by the downpours.
In the United States, sudden heavy rain killed people in Vermont, Connecticut and Pennsylvania with tragic stories of children washed away in flooding.
WILDFIRES AND SMOKE
Too little rain in Greece and Spain fed wildfires that proved difficult to fight. In the Canary Islands, a fire caused 4,000 people to evacuate, others to wear face masks and had 400 firefighters battling it.
Hot and dry conditions caused about 160 wildfires to break out in Israel in early June.
But what really brought fires home happened in parts of Canada where few people live. Rare far northern Quebec wildfires triggered nasty smoke that inflicted the world’s dirtiest air on cities like New York and Washington, then switched to the Midwest.
As of late July more than 600 wildfires were out of control in Canada. A record 47,490 square miles (123,000 square kilometers) burned, and fire season isn’t near done. That’s an area larger than the state of Pennsylvania or North Korea.
WATER TEMPERATURES
Water temperatures in the Florida Keys and off the Everglades hit the high 90s (high 30s Celsius) with Manatee Bay breaking 100 degrees twice in what could be an unofficial world record for surface water temperature, although that’s in dispute.
The North Atlantic had hot spots that alarmed scientists. The world’s oceans as a whole were their hottest ever in June and got even hotter in July. In Antarctica, sea ice smashed record-low levels.
Ocean temperatures take a long time to warm up and cool down, said University of Northern Illinois meteorology professor Victor Gensini. So it doesn’t look good for the rest of the summer, he said.
A HOT FORECAST
“We are favoring above normal temperatures for the next three months,” said NOAA Climate Prediction Center meteorologist Matt Rosencrans.
The only potential relief he sees, especially in the hot Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, is if a hurricane or tropical storm moves through.
The peak of hurricane season in September hasn’t even started.
When going through the litany of this summer’s weather extremes so far, University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann had one question: “How on God’s Earth are we still burning fossil fuels after witnessing all this?”
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Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report from New York. ___
Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
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Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears
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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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By LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has decided to keep U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado, overturning a last-ditch decision by the Trump administration to move it to Alabama and ending months of politically fueled debate, according to senior U.S. officials.
The officials said Biden was convinced by the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness. Dickinson’s view, however, was in contrast to Air Force leadership, who studied the issue at length and determined that relocating to Huntsville, Alabama, was the right move.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the decision ahead of the announcement.
The president, they said, believes that keeping the command in Colorado Springs would avoid a disruption in readiness that the move would cause, particularly as the U.S. races to compete with China in space. And they said Biden firmly believes that maintaining stability will help the military be better able to respond in space over the next decade.
Biden’s decision is sure to enrage Alabama lawmakers and fuel accusations that abortion politics played a role in the choice. The location debate has become entangled in the ongoing battle between Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville and the Defense Department over the move to provide travel for troops seeking reproductive health care. Tuberville opposed the policy is blocking hundreds of military promotions in protest.
Formally created in August 2019, the command was temporarily based in Colorado, and Air Force and Space Force leaders initially recommended it stay there. In the final days of his presidency Donald Trump decided it should be based in Huntsville.
The change triggered a number of reviews.
Proponents of keeping the command in Colorado have argued that moving it to Huntsville and creating a new headquarters would set back its progress at a time it needs to move quickly to be positioned to match China’s military space rise. And Colorado Springs is also home to the Air Force Academy, which now graduates Space Force guardians, and more than 24 military space missions, including three Space Force bases.
Huntsville, however, scored higher than Colorado Springs in a Government Accountability Office assessment of potential locations and has long been a home to some of earliest missiles used in the nation’s space programs, including the Saturn V rocket. It is home to the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command.
According to officials, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who ordered his own review of the matter, leaned toward Huntsville, while Dickinson was staunchly in favor of staying put. The officials said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin presented both options to Biden.
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The NFL expanded the sexual assault portion of its personal conduct policy on Monday in the wake of Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson's 11-game suspension last season, according to The New York Times' Jenny Vrentas.
The NFL altered its personal conduct policy to include sexual assault “involving threats or coercion,” and included a “pattern of conduct” and “offenses that involve planning” as factors that can lead to more serious penalties. The changes came in response to a judgment that former federal judge Sue L. Robinson issued last year in regards to Watson, per the report.
"We annually review our policies and programs with an eye toward continuous improvement based off previous experiences," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told The New York Times.
The Browns traded for Watson last year despite more than 20 accusations that he had sexually harassed and assaulted massage therapists during his time with the Houston Texans. More specifically, many women who accused Watson said they felt threatened or intimidated by Watson both due to him being an NFL quarterback and due to the impact he could have, both positively and negatively, on their business.
Watson has denied the accusations, and two Texas grand juries declined to pursue criminal charges against him. He has since settled all but two lawsuits that were filed against him, too.
Despite the allegations, the Browns signed Watson to a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal. It marked the largest guaranteed money sum in NFL history.
Robinson oversaw the NFL’s investigation into Watson, and she initially suspended him for six games. In her decision, she cited the NFL’s guidelines as her reasoning for not pursuing a harsher punishment despite what she called “predatory” and “egregious” behavior from Watson. There was a clear difference in the NFL’s policy between physically violent and nonviolent offenses, and the policy called for a six-game suspension for first-time offenders who used physical violence.
The NFL and Watson eventually settled on an 11-game suspension. Watson was also fined $5 million and forced to enter a mandatory treatment program.
The new policy now includes sexual assault “involving threats or coercion” to the list of offenses that carry stricter punishment. A second violation, per the report, will result in banishment from the NFL. The revised policy also gives power to a third-party investigator to impose stricter penalties on players “for other types of prohibited conduct.” Including threats and coercion as means for sexual assault now brings the NFL’s policy in line with Major League Baseball and the NBA, as well as many states.
Watson appeared in the final six games of the season last year for the Browns, who went 7-10 and missed the playoffs for the 19th time in the last two decades. Watson threw for 1,102 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
"The whole situation changed me," Watson said of his suspension at training camp last week. "In a situation where I just had to lock in on myself, channel and really know who I'm surrounding myself with and just really who's going to be there and support me even when I'm at my lowest point and the last few years were definitely my lowest point in my life. But that's part of life. I just grow from it, I learn from it. I continue to move forward and push forward and continue to show my real character, my real personality and who I am."
The Browns will open their season against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 10.
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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court said Monday that a full panel of 15 justices would hear petitions in September against a contentious law that was passed last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and which has spurred mass protests.
The law was one of a series of proposed changes to Israel’s judiciary put forward by Netanyahu’s government earlier this year that seek to curb the power of the Supreme Court. The judicial overhaul plan has been met with months of sustained mass protest against the legislation and drawn criticism from the White House.
Critics of the overhaul say that the package of laws would concentrate power in the hands of the ruling coalition and erode the system of checks and balances between branches of government. Proponents say the measures are necessary to limit the power of unelected judges who they say are overly activist.
Netanyahu and his allies passed a law last week that removes the high court’s ability to annul government decisions considered “unreasonable.” The “reasonableness standard” was implemented by the Supreme Court earlier this year to thwart the appointment of a Netanyahu ally as interior minister after he had recently pleaded guilty to tax offenses.
The court said the hearing concerning the law striking down the “reasonableness standard” would take place on Sept. 12 with a full bench of 15 justices. The Supreme Court typically hears cases with smaller panels of justices, but appears to have opted for a full complement of judges because of the highly delicate nature of the matter.
The Netanyahu administration’s push to overhaul the judiciary has deeply divided an already highly polarized country and sparked the longest sustained protests in the country’s history.
Netanyahu and his allies took office in December after the country’s fifth election in under four years, most of them referendums on the longtime leader’s fitness to serve while on trial for corruption.
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Massachusetts state lawmakers handed a $56.2 billion fiscal 2024 budget to Gov. Maura Healey Monday, striking one major item from their legislative to-do list as they enter a month-long recess where mostly local bills move forward.
All eyes on Beacon Hill now turn to the status of a tax relief plan that has been stuck since mid-February in closed-door negotiations led by the same two men who struck a deal on the budget. Top Democrats have worked on some form of tax relief for over a year.
Senate budget chief Sen. Michael Rodrigues said producing a deal on tax relief is not “difficult at all” but there are a large “volume” of high-priority items on the chamber’s plate.
He did not offer a concrete timeline for a tax relief deal but said the Senate would return during their August break “if we need to do it by roll call” vote and the branch wants to do it “as soon as possible.”
“Democracy is painstakingly slow,” Rodrigues told reporters on Monday. “The deliberative process can be very slow at times. And I always quote Winston Churchill, who said democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”
The Senate passed a $586 million tax relief plan in June that boosted several housing-related initiatives but steered clear of any significant changes to the state’s tax-cap law and short-term capital gains tax.
That came after a $654 million House version of the bill sailed through the chamber in April with a provision lowering the short-term capital gains tax from 12% to 5%. The reduction has been supported by Healey and leaders in the business community.
House Democrats also backed a change to Massachusetts’ tax-cap law known as Chapter 62F — which required the state to send billions back to taxpayers last year — that would see any excess tax revenue returned to residents be equal payments regardless of how much they paid into the system.
Senators proposed excluding estates valued up to $2 million from the estate tax, $1 million lower than Healey proposed but on-par with what the House approved. The Senate also increased the cap on rental deductions from $3,000 to $4,000.
The Senate plan boosted the statewide Housing Development Incentive Program cap from $10 million to $57 million before settling on $30 million annually. The House agreed with that change but did so in a separate spending bill passed earlier this month.
Revenue Committee Co-Chair Rep. Mark Cusack said the Legislature will “most likely” address tax relief after Labor Day.
“We’re in talks and we’ll see if we get to a compromise,” he told the Herald on Monday.
The fiscal 2024 budget passed Monday sets aside $581 million for a future tax relief deal. But when that deal might surface is likely only known to the six lawmakers negotiating the plan.
House and Senate Democrats took an extra four weeks past the start of the fiscal year to come to an agreement on the budget, making it the latest non-pandemic-era spending plan to hit a governor’s desk since 2001.
Michlewitz did not shy away from addressing the drawn-out budget negotiations as he introduced the compromise on the floor of the House.
“To quote the Grateful Dead, what a long, strange trip this has been,” the North End Democrat said. “… This has been a drawn out and complicated conference report to negotiate to say the least. Whether it was implementing the first year of the billion dollar fair share revenue, or being confronted with the number of the federal COVID era programs that Washington is no longer paying for, or if it was a leveling off of state revenues, this has been a challenging budget to get over the finish line.”
Healey gave lawmakers more time to come to a deal last week when she filed a $6 billion interim spending plan to keep the state running through August. The House and Senate quickly passed the bill Friday and Healey signed it into law on Monday.
The proposal before Healey does not include the House-backed legalization of online lottery sales. It does have Senate-approved language offering in-state tuition at state schools to undocumented high school graduates who have attended classes in Massachusetts for at least three years.
The bill divides $1 billion in revenue from a new income surtax by shuttling $477 million to transportation and $523 million to education.
That includes $69 million for schools to provide meals at no cost to students, $205 million for the MBTA, and $20 million for a program offering residents 25 or older the opportunity to obtain a degree or certificate through any public community college.
The state budget also includes a policy rider adding two more seats to the MBTA board of directors, one appointed by the mayor of Boston and the other by surrounding municipalities served by the agency.
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PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix sizzled through its 31st consecutive day of at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) and other parts of the country grappled Sunday with record temperatures after a week that saw significant portions of the U.S. population subject to extreme heat.
The National Weather Service said Phoenix climbed to a high of 111 F (43.8 Celsius) before the day was through.
July has been so steamy thus far that scientists calculate it will be the hottest month ever recorded and likely the warmest human civilization has seen. The World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service on Thursday proclaimed July beyond record-smashing.
The historic heat began blasting the lower Southwest U.S. in late June, stretching from Texas across New Mexico and Arizona and into California’s desert.
On Sunday, a massive wildfire burning out of control in California’s Mojave National Preserve spread rapidly amid erratic winds, while firefighters reported progress against another major blaze to the south that prompted evacuations.
The York Fire that erupted Friday near the remote Caruthers Canyon area of the preserve sent up a huge plume of smoke visible nearly 100 miles (160 kilometers) away across the state line in Nevada.
Flames 20 feet (6 meters) high in some spots have charred more than 110 square miles (284 square kilometers) of desert scrub, juniper and Joshua tree woodland, according to a Sunday update.
“The dry fuel acts as a ready ignition source, and when paired with those weather conditions it resulted in long-distance fire run and high flames, leading to extreme fire behavior,” authorities said. No structures were threatened, but there was also no containment.
To the southwest, the Bonny Fire was holding steady at about 3.4 square miles (8.8 square kilometers) in rugged hills of Riverside County. More than 1,300 people were ordered to evacuate their homes Saturday near the remote community of Aguanga, California.
Triple-digit heat was expected in parts of the central San Joaquin Valley through Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
And in Burbank, California, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Los Angeles, the summer heat may have been responsible for some unusual behavior in the animal kingdom: Police in the city responded to a report of a bear sighting in a residential neighborhood and found the animal sitting in a Jacuzzi behind one of the homes.
As climate change brings hotter and longer heat waves, record temperatures across the U.S. have killed dozens of people, and the poorest Americans suffer the most. Air conditioning, once a luxury, is now a matter of survival.
Last year, all 86 heat-related deaths indoors were in uncooled environments.
“To explain it fairly simply: Heat kills,” said Kristie Ebi, a University of Washington professor who researches heat and health. “Once the heat wave starts, mortality starts in about 24 hours.”
It’s the poorest and people of color, from Kansas City to Detroit to New York City and beyond, who are far more likely to face grueling heat without air conditioning, according to a Boston University analysis of 115 U.S. metro areas.
Back in Phoenix, slight relief may be on the way as expected seasonal thunderstorms could drop temperatures Monday and Tuesday.
“It should be around 108 degrees, so we break that 110 streak,” meteorologist Tom Frieders said. “Increasing cloud cover will put temperatures in a downward trend.”
The relief could be short-lived, however. Highs are expected to creep back to 110 F (43.3 C) Wednesday with temperatures reaching 115 F (46.1 C) by the end of the week.
Phoenix has also sweated through a record 16 consecutive nights when the lows temperature didn’t dip below 90 F (32.2 C), making it hard for people to cool off after sunset.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas continues to flirt with its hottest July ever. The city is closing in on its 2010 record for the average of the high and low each day for July, which stands at 96.2 F (35.5 C).
The extreme heat is also hitting the eastern U.S, as soaring temperatures moved from the Midwest into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, where some places recorded their warmest days so far this year.
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More than a decade after an injury rendered him mostly immobile, a paralyzed man is using his mind to walk again, thanks to an innovative technology that connects his brain and his spinal cord.
Gert-Jan Oskam, a native of the Netherlands, was involved in a motorcycle crash 12 years ago when he was living in China, damaging his spinal cord in his neck. He was paralyzed from the hips down and partially paralyzed in his arms, according to an Al Jazeera report.
While Oskam is excited to walk again, he is just as thrilled to be able to stand and share a beer at a bar with friends: "This simple pleasure represents a significant change in my life," he said.
Oskam was treated at a hospital in Switzerland, but researchers in the U.S. are working on similar technology to help people with paralysis.
“Several research institutions, universities and private companies in the U.S. are conducting cutting-edge studies and clinical trials in this field of brain-spinal interface to develop solutions that can improve the quality of life for individuals with paralysis and other neurological conditions,” Shashank Agarwal, senior decision scientist at CVS Health, told Yahoo News.
These institutions include Johns Hopkins University; DARPA, a research agency under the Department of Defense; and BrainGate, a company that develops neurotechnologies, Agarwal said.
The researchers who helped Oskam published a study in May in the medical journal Nature, in which they described the implants that provided a "digital bridge" between Oskam's brain and his spinal cord, bypassing the injured sections.
"We've captured the thoughts of Gert-Jan, and translated these thoughts into a stimulation of the spinal cord to re-establish voluntary movement," Grégoire Courtine, a spinal cord specialist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne who was one of the lead researchers, said at a press briefing reported by the New York Times.
Jocelyne Bloch, a neuroscientist who placed the implant in Oskam, added at the press briefing, “It was quite science fiction in the beginning for me, but it became true today.”
What researchers in the U.S. are doing
“By establishing this digital bridge between the brain and the spinal cord, the brain-spinal interface allows individuals with paralysis to bypass the damaged or nonfunctioning neural pathways and regain control over their limbs,” Agarwal told Yahoo News.
One of the American companies Agarwal mentioned, BrainGate, is developing and testing medical devices aimed at restoring communication, mobility and independence to people affected by neurologic disease, paralysis or limb loss.
The company says on its website that early clinical research has shown that the technology provides intuitive control over advanced prosthetic limbs and provides people with paralysis with "easy control over powerful assistive movement and communication devices."
It further says BrainGate ultimately aims to “enable naturally-controlled movements of paralyzed limbs.”
A deeper dive into the technology
According to Agarwal, the brain-spinal interface (BSI) is the technology being deployed to help Oskam walk again through the “digital bridge.”
The BSI contains a brain-computer interface that establishes direct communication between the brain and an external device, in this case the spinal cord.
“In some cases, brain-spinal interfaces involve the implantation of microelectrode arrays or neural implants directly into the brain,” Agarwal said. “These implants are designed to detect and record neural activity from specific areas of the brain responsible for movement intention. They can pick up electrical signals from the brain’s motor cortex, where motor commands are generated.”
The neural signals are recorded, then decoded and translated into commands that can be understood by the spinal cord or motor neurons.
“Once the decoded neural signals are obtained, they are used to stimulate the spinal cord below the level of the injury,” Agarwal said. “Electrical impulses are delivered to specific regions of the spinal cord, activating motor neurons and neural circuits responsible for coordinating movement.”
According to the Times, the EPFL research enabled Oskam to stand, walk and ascend a steep ramp with only the assistance of a walker. Video captured the stunning feat. A year later, he has maintained these abilities and has shown breakthrough signs of neurological recovery, maneuvering with crutches even when the implant was turned off.
“I treat many patients with spinal cord injuries. The motor problems are only the [tip] of the iceberg,” Dr. Georgios Matis, a neurosurgeon at the University Hospital Cologne in Germany who specializes in functional neurosurgery, told Yahoo News via direct message.
“Such patients also have chronic pain, sensory problems and problems of the autonomic nervous system (blood pressure problems, bladder & bowel problems),” Matis said. “I would expect in the future that this digital bridge can help physicians treat many more problems of patients with [spinal cord injuries].”
Has this worked with anyone else?
“[Oskam] is a pioneer in the field. As far as I know, his team was the first and only with published results in such an esteemed journal,” Matis said.
Research regarding the connecting of the brain to the spinal cord can be attributed back to 2016, when a group of scientists led by Courtine restored a paralyzed monkey's ability to walk. Another test helped a man with a paralyzed hand regain control over it.
Then, in 2018, Courtine led a different group of scientists to help find a way to stimulate the brain through electrical-pulse generators, enabling partially paralyzed people to ride bicycles and walk.
Now, with the latest advancements, people are regaining the ability to walk, swim and cycle within a single day of treatment because of the brain stimulation and the device connecting the brain to the body.
What does the future hold for this technology?
Researchers in the U.S. and abroad are looking to strengthen the technology and enhance it to the point where patients are able to fully walk and maneuver through their thoughts.
On this point, Matis added: “This is the goal and I strongly believe we will achieve this goal in the next 10 to 20 years. It is about optimizing the algorithms we are using to: one, more accurately detect and translate the brain signals, and two, apply the right combination of root stimulation patterns so that the movement becomes more ‘natural.’ The role of intensive rehabilitation (which should last years) must be highlighted!”
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KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — An Afghan branch of Islamic State on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Pakistan that killed at least 54 people at a pro-Taliban party’s election rally, in one of the region’s worst attacks in recent years.
Islamic State in Khorasan Province made the claim in a statement posted on its Amaq website. It said the attacker detonated an explosive vest, and that the bombing in the northwestern town of Bajur was part of the group’s continuing war against forms of democracy it deems to be against Islam.
Hours earlier, hundreds of mourners in Bajur carried caskets draped in colorful cloths to burial sites following the previous day’s attack at the election rally for the Jamiat Ulema Islam party. Officials said Sunday’s bombing killed 54 people, including at least five children, and wounded nearly 200.
The attack appeared to reflect divisions between Islamist groups, which have a strong presence in the district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. The Jamiat Ulema Islam party has ties to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.
At least 1,000 people were crowded into a tent near a market for the rally ahead of fall elections, according to police.
“People were chanting God is Great as the leaders arrived,” said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent, “and that was when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb.”
Mohammad said he heard people crying for help, and minutes later ambulances arrived and began taking the wounded away.
Police had suggested in their initial investigation that Islamic State in Khorasan Province was a suspect. The group is based in neighboring Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida.
Pakistan security analyst Mahmood Shah also previously had said that breakaway factions of the Pakistani Taliban could be possible suspects, though the group distanced itself from the attack.
The Pakistani military spent years fighting the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, in Bajur before declaring the district clear of militants in 2016. But the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman, has remained a potent political force.
On Monday, police recorded statements from some of the wounded at a hospital in Khar, the district’s principal town.
Female relatives and children wailed and beat their chests at family homes Monday as the dead were taken for funerals, following local customs. Hundreds of men followed the caskets to mosques and open areas for special funeral prayers and then into the hills for burial.
As condolences continued to pour in from across the country, dozens of people who had lesser injuries were discharged from hospital, while the critically wounded were taken to the provincial capital of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll continued to rise as some critically wounded people died in hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.
Gul Akbar, the father of an 11-year-old boy who was wounded in the attack, told The Associated Press that his entire family was in a state of shock after hearing about the bombing Sunday. He said he first went to the scene of the attack, and later found his son Taslim Khan being treated in a hospital in Khar.
“What would I have done if he had also been martyred? Five children died in this barbaric attack, and we want to know what our children did wrong,” he said.
Rehman’s party is preparing to contest elections, which are expected in October or November. Abdul Rasheed, one of the party’s senior leaders, said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that “such attacks cannot deter our resolve.”
Rehman’s party is part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.
Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. Khan condemned the bombing Sunday, as did the U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad.
The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the bombing, saying that it was intended to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, wrote in a tweet that “such crimes cannot be justified in any way.”
The bombing came hours before Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad, where he signed new agreements to boost trade and economic ties to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which China has invested $10 billion in Pakistan over 10 years, according to Sharif.
“We will not tolerate any obstacles in the way of friendship with China,” Sharif said, as he stood next to He.
But the government canceled a cultural event that had been arranged in honor of He, according to Sharif, while the nation mourns.
Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.
Rehman, who has long supported Afghanistan’s Taliban government, survived at least two known bomb attacks in 2011 and 2014, when bombings damaged his car at rallies.
Sunday’s bombing was one of the worst in northwestern Pakistan in the last decade. In 2014, 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.
In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.
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Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this story from Islamabad.
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MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE, Calif. (AP) — Crews battled “fire whirls” in California’s Mojave National Preserve this weekend as a massive wildfire crossed into Nevada amid dangerously high temperatures and raging winds.
The York Fire was mapped at roughly 120 square miles (284 square kilometers) on Monday with no containment. The blaze erupted Friday near the remote Caruthers Canyon area of the vast wildland preserve, crossed the state line into Nevada on Sunday and sent smoke further east into the Las Vegas Valley. A smoky hazy blotted out the sun midday on the Las Vegas Strip, and obliterated views of mountains surrounding the city and suburbs.
A fire whirl — sometimes called a fire tornado — is a “spinning column of fire” that forms when intense heat and turbulent winds combine, according to the National Park Service.
The vortexes — which can be anywhere from a few feet tall to several hundred feet high, with varying rotational speeds — were spotted Sunday on the north end of the York Fire.
“While these can be fascinating to observe they are a very dangerous natural phenomena that can occur during wildfires,” the park service wrote.
The whirls require high temperatures to form. In Searchlight, Nevada — an unincorporated area about 12 miles (19.31 kilometers) from the California border where the fire burned — Tuesday’s high was 96 degrees Fahrenheit (35.5 Celsius), according to the National Weather Service.
Significant portions of the U.S. population have been subject to extreme heat in recent weeks. Worldwide, July has been so steamy thus far that scientists calculate it will be the hottest month ever recorded and likely the warmest to hit human civilization.
Wind-driven flames 20 feet (6 meters) high in some spots charred tens of thousands of acres of blackbrush scrub, pinyon-juniper woodlands and the famous Joshua trees in the New York Mountains in San Bernardino County.
It could take the pinyon-juniper woodlands 200 to 300 years to become “a functional community again,” while the blackbrush scrub and Joshua trees are unlikely to regrow after this catastrophic blaze, which erupted without human intervention.
“It will change the habitat possibly permanently,” said Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity.
Even more, deer and bighorn sheep could become trapped by the flames, she said. If any manage to survive the blaze, their resources in the newly scorched landscape would be severely limited.
In 2020, the Dome Fire ripped through the preserve, ravaging one of the world’s largest Joshua tree forests. Conservationists, including Anderson, are trying to revitalize the land by planting new trees since the species usually isn’t able to make a comeback naturally after a wildfire.
The desert hasn’t adapted to fires; such blazes are rare because there are few ignition points in the harsh terrain. Generally, most fires in the desert are caused by humans, Anderson said.
The cause of the York Fire remains under investigation, though authorities say it started on private land within the preserve. Other details were not available Monday.
To the southwest, the Bonny Fire burned about 3.6 square miles (9.3 square kilometers) in the rugged hills of Riverside County. The blaze was about 20% contained on Monday.
More than 1,300 people were ordered to evacuate their homes Saturday near the community of Aguanga that is home to horse ranches and wineries.
One firefighter was injured in the blaze.
Gusty winds and the chance of thunderstorms into Tuesday will heighten the risk of renewed growth, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a statement.
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PITTSBURGH (AP) — A jury is set to deliberate whether to impose the death penalty or a sentence of life in prison without parole on a man who spewed antisemitic hate before fatally shooting 11 worshippers at a synagogue in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community.
The same jurors who convicted 50-year-old Robert Bowers in June on 63 criminal counts listened to closing arguments Monday in the penalty phase of his federal trial, held nearly five years after the truck driver from suburban Baldwin perpetrated the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.
Bowers defiled a place of worship when he entered the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, and opened fire with an AR-15 rifle, shooting everyone he could find in a mass murder clearly motivated by religious hatred, said U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan.
Bowers raved incessantly on social media about his hatred of Jewish people — using a slur for Jewish people some 400 times on a social media platform favored by the far right — and remains proud that he killed Jews, the prosecutor reminded jurors,
“Do not be numb to it. Remember what it means. This defendant targeted people solely because of the faith that they chose,” Olshan said.
He added: “This is a case that calls for the most severe punishment under the law: the death penalty.”
Bowers’ lead defense attorney, Judy Clarke, acknowledged the horror of his crimes but urged jurors to opt for a life sentence.
“What has happened cannot be undone. We can’t rewind the clock and make it that this senseless crime never happened. All we can do is make the right decision going forward. We are asking you to make the right decision, and that is life,” Clarke said in her closing argument.
A life sentence would mean that “prison is where Mr. Bowers will die in obscurity, not as a hero and not as a martyr,” she said.
Bowers’ attorneys have argued that he has schizophrenia, a serious brain disorder whose symptoms include delusions and hallucinations, and that Bowers attacked the synagogue out of a delusional belief that Jews were helping to bring about a genocide of white people by coming to the aid of refugees and immigrants. Clarke recounted Bowers’ history of psychiatric hospitalizations, including an extended stay in a residential juvenile mental health program.
The defense also presented evidence of Bowers’ difficult childhood.
Olshan disputed the defense experts’ diagnosis of schizophrenia, asserting that Bowers was not suffering psychosis but had chosen to believe white supremacist rhetoric. And while acknowledging that Bowers was a depressed, neglected child, Olshan downplayed the significance of it, noting that Bowers had held jobs, paid bills, and was an otherwise functioning adult.
“He was not a child, he was a grown man. He was responsible for his actions, not his family and things that happened decades earlier. He was, he is responsible for his actions,” Olshan said.
In order to impose death, jurors must find that aggravating circumstances, which make the crime especially heinous, outweigh mitigating factors that could be seen as diminishing his culpability. Those aggravating circumstances could include the vulnerability of Bowers’ elderly and disabled victims and his targeting of Jewish people.
Olshan played a composite of 911 calls made from inside the synagogue, including audio of people being shot and a survivor’s horrified screams.
He said Bowers had taken “11 people, 11 full lives, 11 people who loved their families, 11 people who loved their friends, 11 people who were loved. … How do you measure the impact of all of that loss?”
The prosecutor spoke about 75-year-old Joyce Fienberg’s care for her family and 65-year-old Richard Gottfried’s devotion to his faith. He said Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, 66, had the ethos of a country doctor: “He loved delivering babies but he never delivered judgment.” David Rosenthal, 54, and Cecil Rosenthal, 59, intellectually disabled brothers, “loved life,” Olshan said. “But maybe more than anything, they loved Tree of Life.”
The other deceased victims were Rose Mallinger, 97; Bernice Simon, 84, and her husband, Sylvan Simon, 86; Dan Stein, 71; Melvin Wax, 87; and Irving Younger, 69.
The attack also wounded seven people, including five responding police officers. Bowers was shot three times before surrendering when he ran out of ammunition.
___
Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania.
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World Wrestling Entertainment will stage its marquee mid-year event this Saturday as SummerSlam takes place at Ford Field, home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions. After WrestleMania, SummerSlam is the second-biggest show WWE produces in a calendar year and this year’s card is typically strong from top to bottom.
Brock Lesnar, who has headlined nine previous SummerSlams, faces Cody Rhodes in a match that figures to finish their trilogy, Logan Paul is back to square off with Ricochet after a series of viral moments between the two and Roman Reigns continues to battle with his own family, putting both his Universal Championship and the title of “Tribal Chief” up against his cousin Jey Uso.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s SummerSlam:
WWE SummerSlam 2023
Date: Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023Time: 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT (Pre-show starts at 7 p.m. ET)Site: Ford Field in Detroit
How to watch SummerSlam 2023
SummerSlam 2023 match card
• Logan Paul vs. Ricochet• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler• Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes• SummerSlam Battle Royal (Sheamus, LA Knight, TBA)• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Drew McIntyre• Women's Championship: Asuka (c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Finn Bálor• Undisputed Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso
WWE SummerSlam ‘go-home’ Monday Night Raw preview
Monday, July 31 | 8 p.m. ET on USA from the Toyota Center in Houston
Lesnar and Paul will appear and both likely cut in-ring promos to build their matches this weekend. Rollins will team with Sami Zayn in place of an injured Kevin Owens to face the Judgment Day duo of Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio to continue Priest’s “Money in the Bank” briefcase cash-in. In a non-SummerSlam related angle, Alpha Academy’s Maxxine Dupri will face Viking Raiders manager Valhalla after weeks of encounters between the factions.
• Brock Lesnar appears• Logan Paul appears• Maxxine Dupri vs. Valhalla• Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn vs. Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio
WWE SummerSlam ‘go-home’ SmackDown card
Friday, Aug. 4 | 8 p.m. ET on Fox from the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio
The only announced segment for Smackdown is a singles match between the only two confirmed competitors in the SummerSlam battle royal, LA Knight and Sheamus.
• LA Knight vs. Sheamus
Storylines for WWE SummerSlam
Logan Paul vs. RicochetThese two first crossed paths in January's Royal Rumble match, staging an incredible spot with each spring-boarding halfway across the ring and clotheslining each other in mid-air.
Then, last month at the Money in the Bank ladder match, they went for another high spot that didn’t quite come off as smooth as Ricochet attempted a Spanish Fly from the top rope and put Paul through two tables. Ever since the two have traded barbs on social media and in an in-ring segment setting up the SummerSlam blow-off.
Well, at least now he know how we all felt when he was added to the match 🤷🏽♂️ https://t.co/8S5vmRBOHF
— Ricochet (@KingRicochet) July 8, 2023
Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna BaszlerBaszler, who got Rousey into the professional wrestling world to begin with, turned on her longtime friend during a women's tag team title defense at Money in the Bank, costing them the belts. When Rousey demanded an explanation two days later on Monday Night Raw, Baszler delivered a blistering promo in which she (correctly) pointed out that Rousey has had championship opportunities handed to her since she set foot in the WWE, while she has had to work for every spot she's ever had. This feud has felt a bit rushed, likely because of Rousey's reported "hard out" date to exit the company.
Brock Lesnar vs. Cody RhodesLess than 24 hours after failing to capture the undisputed Universal championship from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, Cody Rhodes was set to team with Brock Lesnar to face Reigns and Solo Sikoa on Raw. Before that match began, Lesnar attacked Rhodes and pummeled him for nearly 10 minutes until the show went off the air. Rhodes got a narrow win the following month at Backlash and then Lesnar (storyline) broke Cody's left arm during an attack on the May 22 episode of Raw. Five days later Lesnar beat Rhodes by technical submission after working over the arm most of the match. Rhodes has since spent weeks trying to get a third match and finally got it on the July 17 episode of Raw when Lesnar accepted and proceeded to pummel Cody in front of his family at ringside.
Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Drew McIntyreAt WrestleMania Gunther retained the Intercontinental title in a triple-threat match against McIntyre and Sheamus in one of the best matches of the weekend. Following another successful defense over Matt Riddle at Money in the Bank, Gunther was confronted by a returning McIntyre, who hadn't been seen on TV since that WrestleMania match. Gunther formally accepted McIntyre's challenge on the July 24 episode of Raw.
Women's Championship: Asuka (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte FlairAsuka unsuccessfully challenged Belair for the title at WrestleMania but managed to win it at Night of Champions on May 27 thanks to a rather creative application of the blue mist. On the June 9 episode of Smackdown, Flair returned for the first time since WrestleMania to challenge Asuka, enraging Belair, who was in line for a rematch. The Flair-Asuka title match took place on June 30, with Belair interfering and laying both other women out. To resolve the issue a triple-threat was set for SummerSlam.
World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Finn BálorRollins won the newly introduced World Heavyweight Championship in a tournament final over AJ Styles. Soon thereafter Bálor began to stalk Rollins and demand a title match. There is history here as Bálor won the inaugural Universal Championship over Rollins at SummerSlam 2016, only to have to surrender it the next night on Raw due to an injury he suffered during the match. In promos to hype this match, Bálor has continually brought up that chapter as his motivation for targeting Rollins at this year's SummerSlam.
Undisputed Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey UsoThe Bloodline story involving members of the real-life Anoa'i wrestling family has been unfolding for more than three years at this point and has never been hotter. Since their tag-team championship loss at WrestleMania, Reigns has bullied and belittled his cousins, causing the Usos to turn on the "Tribal Chief" on the June 16 episode of SmackDown. In a tag-team match at Money in the Bank Jey became the first person to pin Reigns in nearly three years to win the match and set up a singles encounter for the undisputed Universal Championship at SummerSlam.
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NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — The world is levying economic sanctions over a coup against one of the West’s last democratic partners against Islamic extremists in West Africa. Families in one of the world’s poorest nations could pay the price.
In the capital of Niger, many people live in makeshift shelters tied together with slats of wood, sheets and plastic tarps because they can’t pay rent, and they scramble daily to make enough money to feed their children.
Salou Hassan and his family live in a two-room hut on the side of the road, along with some 140 people. The family sleeps on wooden slats close to the floor, with no electricity or running water, and they bathe in public showers.
“The most difficult part is finding food for my children,“ said Hassan, 30, whose sons are 5 and 6 years old.
Hassan sells water door to door, earning about $6 a day when things go well. His wheelbarrow’s been broken and he doesn’t have nearly $70 he needs to fix it. His wife sweeps stalls at the central market making less than half what Hassan does.
Hassan has hardly been aware that the country’s president was overthrown.
“I’m looking for money for food for my family,” he said.
Meanwhile, Niger’s neighbors are threatening armed intervention against the junta run by the head of the presidential guard, although analysts say there is only a slim chance of the regional body successfully sending troops.
Both the United States and France have sent forces and hundreds of millions of military and humanitarian aid in recent years to Niger, which was a French colony until 1960. The French and the US train Nigerien forces, and the French military carries out joint operations in the north.
Since the coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, people have been toting Russian flags and praising that country in pro-junta demonstrations.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger in March to strengthen ties and announce $150 million in direct assistance, calling the country “a model of democracy.” France pulled out of Mali last year and has some 1,500 troops in Niger.
The West African regional body known as ECOWAS announced travel and economic sanctions against Niger on Sunday over the coup, and said they would use force if the coup leaders don’t reinstate him within one week.
Since the 1990s, the 15-nation bloc has unsuccessfully tried to protect democracies against the threat of coups, with mixed success.
Niger relies heavily on foreign aid and sanctions could further impoverish its more than 25 million people. ECOWAS suspended all commercial and financial transactions between its member states and Niger, as well as freezing Nigerien assets held in regional central banks.
The sanctions could be disastrous and Niger needs to find a solution to avoid them, the country’s Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told French media outlet Radio France Internationale on Sunday.
“When people say there’s an embargo, land borders are closed, air borders are closed, it’s extremely difficult for people … Niger is a country that relies heavily on the international community,” he said.
Four nations are run by military governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.
In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war, one of the bloodiest conflicts in Africa and one that left many wary of intervening in internal conflicts. In 2017, ECOWAS intervened in The Gambia to prevent the new president’s predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Around 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered the country, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues. The intervention was largely seen as accomplishing its mission.
If the regional bloc uses force, it could trigger violence not only between Niger and ECOWAS forces but also between civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say.
While unlikely, “the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic,” said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.
Lyammouri does not see a “military intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger,” he said.
Blinken on Sunday commended the resolve of the ECOWAS leadership to “defend constitutional order in Niger” after the sanctions announcement, and joined the bloc in calling for the immediate release of Bazoum and his family.
The military junta, which seized power on Wednesday when members of the presidential guard surrounded Bazoum’s house and detained him, is already cracking down on the government and civil liberties.
On Sunday evening it arrested four government officials, including the minister of petroleum and son of a former president; the minister of education; the minister of mines; and the president of the ruling party. The arrests were recounted to The Associated Press by a person close to the president, who was not authorized to speak about the situation, and a Nigerien analyst who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.
Also Sunday, junta spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane banned the use of social media to put out messages he describe as harmful to state security. He also claimed that Bazoum’s government had authorized the French to carry out strikes to free Bazoum, allegations that were not confirmed.
Observers believe Bazoum is being held at his house in the capital, Niamey. The first photos of him since the coup appeared Sunday evening, sitting on a couch smiling beside Chad’s President Mahamat Deby, who had flown in to mediate between the government and the junta.
In anticipation of the ECOWAS decision Sunday, thousands of pro-junta supporters took to the streets in Niamey, denouncing France, waving Russian flags ong with signs reading “Down with France” and supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin and telling the international community to stay away. Protesters also burned down a door and smashed windows of the French Embassy, before the Nigerien army dispersed them.
France said Monday that President Emmanuel Macron is closely monitoring the situation in Niger and has discussed the crisis with regional leaders and European and international partners.
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| 2023-07-31T20:26:05
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ROCHESTER, N.H. — In a new policy plan unveiled Monday, Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis took aim at China with a “Declaration of Economic Independence” that also targets taxes, regulations and “elites” he blames for the nation’s decline.
Speaking in a New Hampshire warehouse, the Florida governor promised to diversify and expand the economy by fighting for the middle class.
“Revitalizing economic freedom and opportunity will require building an economy where the concerns of average citizens are elevated over those deemed too big to fail,” he said at Prep Partners Group, which coordinates warehousing, distribution and other logistics for other companies.
“We are a nation with an economy, not the other way around,” DeSantis said. “We are citizens of a republic. We are not cogs in a global economic empire.”
DeSantis said his top priority would be wresting economic control from China by ending the nation’s preferential trade status, banning imports of goods made from stolen intellectual property and preventing companies from sharing critical technologies with China. Current polices, he said, have created an “abusive relationship” between the two countries.
“The elites sold us a bill of goods when it came to China. They were wrong, and we need to get it right,” he said.
The 10-point economic plan is the third major policy proposal put forth by DeSantis, who remains a distant second to former President Donald Trump in most polls and is fighting for momentum in the midst of a campaign reset. He recently shed more than one-third of his staff as federal filings showed his campaign was burning through cash at an unsustainable rate.
But on Monday, his focus was on reckless federal government spending. His plan describes him as a “new sheriff in town” who will veto wasteful spending and mandate work requirements for welfare programs. He also claimed he could achieve 3% annual economic growth by keeping taxes low, eliminating bureaucracy and incentivizing investment.
On the education front, DeSantis said he will stop incentivizing “useless degrees” by making universities responsible for the loans their students accrue.
“It’s wrong to say that a truck driver should have to pay off the debt of somebody who got a degree in gender studies,” he said.
After the speech, in what was billed as a news conference, DeSantis sidestepped a question about Trump’s mounting legal fees. That’s even as the DeSantis campaign has been attacking Trump for devoting much of his political fundraising to his legal entanglements.
“We’re here to talk about restoring this economy. We’re here to talk about uplifting the middle class,” DeSantis said. “To me, if you ask voters, are they more interested in hearing about that or the process stories about politics? I think that they want to hear about the country’s future so that’s what we’re going to talk about.”
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WASHINGTON (AP) — X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.
An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit’s research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH’s research publications seem intended “to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.”
Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.
The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism or harmful behavior on social media platforms like X, TikTok or Facebook.
The organization has published several reports critical of Musk’s leadership, detailing an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase. The letter from X’s attorney cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platform’s rules.
In the letter, attorney Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the center of trying to harm X’s reputation. The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the center received funds from some of X’s competitors, even though the center has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.
“CCDH intends to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims,” Spiro wrote, using the platform’s former name.
Imran Ahmed, the center’s founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and extremism. He said that typically, the targets of the center’s criticism have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.
Ahmed said he worried X’s response to the center’s work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.
“This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war,” Ahmed told the Associated Press. “If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.”
Messages left with Spiro and X were not immediately returned Monday.
It’s not the first time that Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who covered his takeover of Twitter. Another user was suspended for using publicly available flight data to track Musk’s private plane; Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user before allowing him back on the platform under certain restrictions.
He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that wasn’t illegal. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk wrote in a tweet last year.
X’s recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a nonprofit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.
“Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter,” Schiff said in a statement.
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BISMARCK, N.D. — (AP) — Two pipeline operators have agreed to pay a $12.5 million civil penalty related to crude oil spills in Montana and North Dakota.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced the settlement in a 2022 federal court lawsuit. Belle Fourche Pipeline Company and Bridger Pipeline LLC will pay the $12.5 million to resolve the claims made under the Clean Water Act and Pipeline Safety Laws, EPA said. The affiliated companies own and operate oil pipelines in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.
In 2015, Bridger's Poplar Pipeline broke and spilled more than 50,000 gallons (about 190,000 liters) of crude into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana. Bridger has completed cleanup of the site, and in 2021 settled a lawsuit with federal and Montana authorities for $2 million.
In 2016, Belle Fourche's Bicentennial Pipeline in Billings County, North Dakota, broke due to a landslide and spilled over 600,000 gallons (about 2.3 million liters) of oil, impacting an unnamed tributary, Ash Coulee Creek and the Little Missouri River. Belle Fourche's cleanup is ongoing with oversight from North Dakota's Department of Environmental Quality, according to EPA.
Belle Fourche also will pay the state's past response costs, totaling over $98,000, according to court documents filed Monday.
“Oil pipeline spills can cause enormous and long-lasting damage to the environment,” Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said in a statement. “This settlement holds Belle Fourche and Bridger Pipeline accountable for their significant oil spills and requires them to take meaningful measures to prevent future spills from their oil pipelines.”
The operators also are required to implement specified compliance measures, in addition to the civil penalty.
Belle Fourche and Bridger are owned by Wyoming-based True Companies, whose spokesman, when reached by email, did not have an immediate comment on the agreement.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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NBA star Steph Curry is motivating others to shoot their best shot in Apple TV’s Stephen Curry: Underrated.
The documentary film chronicles intimate details of Curry’s rise from in his own words “the undersized, scrawny kid that was just trying to figure out how to make it” to a four time NBA champion.
The documentary’s producers, “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler and Unanimous Media’s Erick Peyton, revealed the Golden State Warriors star wanted to pull the curtain on his personal life “to reframe the quote-unquote celebrity athlete documentary.”
“On the surface, someone could write this film off, but this is a film about the power of being seen,” Coogler told the Daily News.
He added: “That was the biggest thing I think that Steph did was allow himself to be open at a time when he was trying to accomplish so much that requires so much focus. Trying to take a team on a playoff run, trying to complete your undergraduate degree, trying to break a three-point record. All these things were happening while he was opening up his home and allowing us to follow him to games and film his children.”
The doc highlights several pivotal moments in Curry’s journey, including his three years at Davidson in his college days, a time where his athletic abilities were initially underrated. It’s a word the athlete now proudly embraces as a “badge of honor.”
“He knew who he was, so when he started to overcome people’s opinion, he stayed who he was,” Peyton noted. And so you start to use that as your superpower, as that chip on your shoulder to keep proving people wrong.”
Viewers get a chance to witness some of those victorious milestones, such as the moment he broke a record at Madison Square Garden, a celebration he shared with familiar faces.
“I think there’s a running thread in the film, the celebrity interactions with Steph. Lebron coming to his college game, [Kevin Durant] stopping by and showing love to him in the afterparty after the record is broken, Spike Lee’s interaction with him, Reggie Miller reading the profile.”
“You have athletes and celebrities who maybe have their own stories of being underrated at a time, but they’re not underrated anymore. We recognize their greatness. You’re seeing greatness respond and react and support other greatness. Other greatness being Steph.”
This is especially apparent in an unexpected scene where a historic greatness-to-greatness exchange took place following Curry’s Madison Square Garden victory.
“We didn’t know that Spike Lee would pull up to his Subway commercial shoot to have it autographed,” Coogler shared speaking of the time the “Do the Right Thing” director asked Curry to autograph a copy of the Daily News with an article headlined ‘Madison Steph Garden.’
“I went to go see Spike and I actually saw where he has that article in his office. It’s up on the wall. I think he has the stat sheet too. It was pretty crazy. I took a picture.”
In an interview with TODAY, Curry recalled scenes in the documentary that blew him away as well.
“Even I learned a lot about my own story, because you kind of hear from other people’s perspectives on how impactful it was.”
It’s an impact Coogler and Peyton both hope viewers experience.
“Stephen Curry: Underrated” is streaming now on AppleTV.
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| 2023-07-31T20:26:14
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An escalating dispute over a gas field in the Persian Gulf poses an early challenge to a Chinese-brokered agreement to reconcile regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Saudi Arabia and neighboring Kuwait jointly claim the offshore Al-Durra gas field. Iran says it has rights to the field, which it refers to as Arash. The two sides held talks in Iran in March but were unable to agree on a border demarcation.
A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, said the country would not tolerate any infringement on its rights, echoing remarks by the country’s oil minister the previous day.
“We have expressed our readiness to engage in dialogue with the Kuwaiti side,” Kanaani told reporters Monday. “But if there is no interest in mutual utilization of this joint field, the Islamic Republic of Iran has naturally put the exploration and utilization of the resources on its agenda.”
Kuwait’s oil minister told Sky News Arabia last week that his country would commence drilling and production without waiting for a deal.
Saudi Arabia has sided with Kuwait, saying the two countries have exclusive ownership of the field, and has called on Iran to return to negotiations.
Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have backed opposite sides in conflicts across the Middle East and accused each other of destabilizing the region, formally restored diplomatic relations in April following a seven-year freeze. They have since reopened embassies and welcomed senior officials on visits.
But they continue to back opposite sides in Yemen’s civil war, which is ongoing despite a 15-month cease-fire. Saudi Arabia is also in negotiations with the United States over potentially normalizing relations with Israel, which Iran’s leaders have said should be wiped off the map.
“Any step in the direction toward normalization of ties with this aggressive regime will only serve to give it more leeway to commit more atrocities against the Palestinian nation,” Kanaani, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said.
It’s unclear whether the dispute over the gas field, which goes back to the 1960s, will escalate beyond rhetoric. But tensions are already high in the Persian Gulf, where the U.S. is building up military forces in response to what it says is Iran’s unlawful seizure of oil tankers and harassment of commercial vessels.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait agreed last year to jointly develop the gas field. Kuwait said at the time that they aimed to produce 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 84,000 barrels of liquefied gas per day. Iran denounced the agreement as illegal and said it should be included in any such plans.
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| 2023-07-31T20:26:12
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A New Hampshire nurse, who has reportedly been kidnapped in Haiti, has described Haitians as “resilient people” in a video about her work for a nonprofit Christian ministry in the country.
“They’re full of joy, and life and love. I’m so blessed to know so many amazing Haitians,” Alix Dorsainil says in a video on the website of the ministry she works for, El Roi Haiti.
Dorsainvil and her daughter were kidnapped Thursday, the organization said in a statement over the weekend. El Roi Haiti, which runs a school and ministry in Port au Prince, said the two were taken from campus. Dorsainvil is the wife of the program’s director, Sandro Dorsainvil.
That happened the same day that the U.S. State Department issued a “do not travel advisory” in the country and ordered nonemergency personnel to leave there amid growing security concerns.
“Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family,” El Roi president and co-founder Jason Brown said in the statement. “Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus.”
A State Department spokesperson said in a statement Saturday is it “aware of reports of the kidnapping of two U.S. citizens in Haiti,” adding, “We are in regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our U.S. government interagency partners.”
The department has not issued any updates since then. Alix Dorainvil’s father, Steven Comeau, reached in New Hampshire, said he could not talk.
Dorsainvil graduated from Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts, which has a program to support nursing education in Haiti. Before that, she went to Cornerstone Christian Academy in Ossipee, New Hampshire.
“Pray that God would keep her safe, be with her through this trial, and deliver her from her captors,” the school posted on its Facebook page.
In its advisory Thursday, the State Department said that “kidnapping is widespread, and victims regularly include U.S. citizens.”
It said kidnappings often involve ransom negotiations and U.S. citizen victims have been physically harmed.
Earlier this month, the National Human Rights Defense Network issued a report warning about an upsurge in killings and kidnappings and the U.N. Security Council met to discuss Haiti’s worsening situation.
In December 2021, an unidentified person paid a ransom that freed three missionaries kidnapped by a gang in Haiti under an agreement that was supposed to have led to the release of all 15 remaining captives, t heir Ohio-based organization confirmed.
The person who made the payment was not affiliated with Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries, and the workers say they don’t know who the individual is or how much was paid to the gang, which initially demanded $1 million per person. Internal conflicts in the gang, they say, led it to renege on a pledge to release all the hostages, freeing just three of them instead on Dec. 5.
The accounts from former hostages and other Christian Aid Ministries staffers, in recent recorded talks to church groups and others, were the first public acknowledgement from the organization that ransom was paid at any point following the Oct. 16 kidnapping of 16 Americans and a Canadian affiliated with CAM.
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| 2023-07-31T20:26:15
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(KTLA) – The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the discovery of a body inside a 55-gallon drum in Malibu Lagoon on Monday.
A park worker first saw the drum floating by the Pacific Coast Highway bridge Sunday night but didn’t think much of it at the time, a spokesperson for the L.A. County Fire Department told Nexstar’s KTLA.
When lifeguards arrived at work Monday morning, they saw the drum in the lagoon and tried to pull it out at which point they discovered the body inside, officials said.
No information about the victim was immediately known.
KTLA helicopter footage showed the black plastic drum standing upright in shallow water and the beach appeared to be closed for the investigation.
Late last spring, a body was found in a barrel in Nevada’s Lake Mead. Authorities said the body may have been there for four decades but have not yet identified the victim, despite identifying other bodies that appeared due to receding water levels.
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| 2023-07-31T20:26:23
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By REBECCA BOONE (Associated Press)
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell has been sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife. Vallow Daybell will serve three life sentences one after the other, the judge said.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.
At the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, Judge Steven W. Boyce said the search for the missing children, the discovery of their bodies and the evidence photos shown in court left law enforcement and jurors traumatized, and he would never be able to get images of the slain children out of his head.
A parent killing their own children “is the most shocking thing really that I can imagine,” Boyce said.
Vallow Daybell justified the murders by “going down a bizarre religious rabbit hole, and clearly you are still down there,” the judge said.
“I don’t think to this day you have any remorse for the effort and heartache you caused,” he said.
Boyce heard testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan.
“Tylee will never have the opportunity to become a mother, wife or have the career she was destined to have. JJ will never be able to grow and spread his light with the world the way he did,” Ryan wrote in a statement read by prosecuting attorney Rob Wood. “My siblings and father deserve so much more than this. I want them to be remembered for who they were, not just a spectacle.”
Ryan also wrote about his own grief.
“I’ve lost the opportunity to share life with the people I love the most. I have lost my sister, father, brother and my mother,” he wrote. “I pray for healing for everyone involved, including those who took the lives of everyone we loved.”
The murder scheme and Tammy Daybell’s death left a deep rift in her family, Tammy’s sister Samantha Gwilliam told the court.
“Why? Why plan something so heinous? You are not exalted beings, and your behavior makes you ineligible to be one,” Gwilliam said, referring to the unusual religious claims. “Because of the choices you made, my family lost a beloved mother, sister and daughter.”
Tammy Daybell’s mother was fighting cancer, and spent the last months of her life watching the murder trial, Gwilliam said. The family has also been hounded by media and others drawn by “all of the salacious scandal you stirred up,” Gwilliam told Vallow Daybell, who looked down as she sat between her defense attorneys.
“I miss my sister every day. I will grieve her, and the loss of my mother, every single day of my life,” Gwilliam said. “As for you, I choose to forget you and as I leave the courtroom here today, I choose to never think of you again.”
Boyce also heard from Vallow Daybell before handing down the sentence. She quoted Bible verses about how people should not judge each other. She said she too mourned the deaths of her children and Tammy Daybell but knew they would be together in the afterlife.
She claimed she is regularly visited by the spirits of her dead children, as well as the spirit of her “eternal friend,” Tammy Daybell, and suggested that the three weren’t murdered at all.
“Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case,” she said. “Accidental deaths happen. Suicides happen. Fatal side effects from medication happen.”
Wood pointed to the two Arizona cases as well as the three murders in six weeks in Idaho.
“A defendant who is willing to murder her own children is willing to murder anyone,” Wood said. “Society can only be protected from this defendant by a sentence of life in prison without parole.”
Vallow Daybell was committed multiple times for treatment to make her mentally competent for the court proceedings. But Wood said there is no evidence that her crimes were impacted by her “alleged mental illness” — which includes delusional disorder with grandiose features, according to reports referenced in court.
“The evidence is overwhelming that she did know right from wrong,” Wood said, noting testimony from several people who said she lied to them about the deaths.
In July 2019, Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self-defense. He was never charged and later died of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published writer of doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s yard the following summer.
During the trial, experts said Tylee appeared to have been stabbed and her body burned before it was buried in a pet cemetery, Wood said.
JJ’s head was wrapped in tape and plastic, asphyxiating him, Wood said, speculating that his last thoughts must have “been filled with fear and betrayal.”
Tammy Daybell’s body was bruised, suggesting she fought back as she was asphyxiated in her bed, Wood said.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy, was killed. Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his “weird” apocalyptic religious claims. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a “sexual goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into “zombies,” including JJ and Tylee.
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| 2023-07-31T20:26:25
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WASHINGTON — (AP) — President Joe Biden has decided to keep U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado, overturning a last-ditch decision by the Trump administration to move it to Alabama and ending months of politically fueled debate, according to senior U.S. officials.
The officials said Biden was convinced by the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness. Dickinson's view, however, was in contrast to Air Force leadership, who studied the issue at length and determined that relocating to Huntsville, Alabama, was the right move.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the decision ahead of the announcement.
The president, they said, believes that keeping the command in Colorado Springs would avoid a disruption in readiness that the move would cause, particularly as the U.S. races to compete with China in space. And they said Biden firmly believes that maintaining stability will help the military be better able to respond in space over the next decade. Those factors, they said, outweighed what the president believed would be any minor benefits of moving to Alabama.
Biden's decision is sure to enrage Alabama lawmakers and fuel accusations that abortion politics played a role in the choice. The location debate has become entangled in the ongoing battle between Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville and the Defense Department over the move to provide travel for troops seeking reproductive health care. Tuberville opposed the policy is blocking hundreds of military promotions in protest.
The U.S. officials said the abortion issue had no effect at all on Biden's decision. And they said the president fully expected there would be different views on the matter within the Defense Department.
Formally created in August 2019, the command was temporarily based in Colorado, and Air Force and Space Force leaders initially recommended it stay there. In the final days of his presidency Donald Trump decided it should be based in Huntsville.
The change triggered a number of reviews.
Proponents of keeping the command in Colorado have argued that moving it to Huntsville and creating a new headquarters would set back its progress at a time it needs to move quickly to be positioned to match China’s military space rise. And Colorado Springs is also home to the Air Force Academy, which now graduates Space Force guardians, and more than 24 military space missions, including three Space Force bases.
Officials also argued that any new headquarters in Alabama would not be completed until sometime after 2030, forcing a lengthy transition.
Huntsville, however, scored higher than Colorado Springs in a Government Accountability Office assessment of potential locations and has long been a home to some of earliest missiles used in the nation’s space programs, including the Saturn V rocket. It is home to the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command.
According to officials, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who ordered his own review of the matter, leaned toward Huntsville, while Dickinson was staunchly in favor of staying put. The officials said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin presented both options to Biden.
The decision was good news for Colorado lawmakers.
“For two and a half years we’ve known any objective analysis of this basing decision would reach the same conclusion we did, that Peterson Space Force Base is the best home for Space Command," Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said in a statement. “Most importantly, this decision firmly rejects the idea that politics — instead of national security — should determine basing decisions central to our national security.”
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said the decision “restores integrity to the Pentagon’s basing process and sends a strong message that national security and the readiness of our Armed Forces drive our military decisions.”
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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| 2023-07-31T20:26:26
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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s economy has grown modestly after months of stagnation, but higher interest rates designed to fight inflation are casting a shadow as they make it more expensive for households and businesses to borrow, invest and spend.
The 20 countries that use the euro currency and their 346 million people saw 0.3% growth in the April-to-June period, compared with the first three months of the year, the EU statistics agency Eurostat reported Monday.
That’s an improvement over zero growth in the first quarter and a slight decline in fourth quarter of last year — but not by much. Plus, one-time factors and an outsized bump from Ireland made things look better than they really were.
The eurozone got a boost by 0.5% growth in France and 0.4% in Spain, where lower inflation has helped lift consumer spending power.
Yet the French figure was increased by the delivery of one very large manufactured item — a cruise ship. That statistical quirk flattered French growth but does little to disguise weak demand for goods in the eurozone’s second-largest economy.
Ireland’s growth of 3.3%, largest in the eurozone, also distorted the overall picture. Its growth figures often show large swings due to major international companies housing their headquarters there, including tech giants like Meta, Google and Apple.
Without Ireland, euro-area growth would have been only 0.1%, said Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics.
The overall figure “was driven by a few country idiosyncrasies and masks an underlying momentum that is likely much closer to stagnation,” said Marc de Muizon, senior European analyst at Deutsche Bank Research.
Europe’s largest economy, Germany, struggled in the second quarter, recording zero growth after two straight quarters of falling output as it grappled with high energy costs tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Italy, the No. 3 economy, shrank by 0.3%.
The eurozone growth figures for the first quarter were revised from a decline of 0.1%, statistically erasing what had been two straight quarters of contraction — one definition of recession.
Inflation in the eurozone, meanwhile, continued its gradual decline, falling to 5.3% in July from 5.5% in June.
Europe is still struggling with the aftershocks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including Moscow cutting off most of its natural gas to the continent that sharply raised prices for the fuel and the electricity it generates.
In Germany, Europe’s manufacturing powerhouse, Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck has proposed capping energy prices for industry with government help.
The worst of the price spike is over, but costs are still higher than before the war began. Energy has faded as a main driver of inflation, but price rises are hitting Europeans when they shop for groceries, clothes and more, and the rebound for services companies — such as hotels and restaurants that suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic — has mostly run its course.
Food prices rose 10.8% in July from a year earlier, an improvement from June and previous months but still a pain point for households. Energy, meanwhile, kept dropping, falling 6.1%. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, core inflation held steady at 5.5% — a key indicator that has not fallen as much as central bankers want.
In a bright spot for Europe, rebounding travel, especially in the Mediterranean countries that heavily rely on tourism, is expected to support growth in the upcoming third quarter as people flock to the beach for their summer holidays in Greece, Spain and Italy, despite recent heat waves and wildfires.
Other than that, prospects for the rest of the year are muted. Another drag on the economy is the rapid series of interest rate increases that the European Central Bank has unleashed to knock down inflation.
The ECB made its ninth straight hike Thursday, bringing its key deposit rate from minus 0.5% to 3.75% in just one year, a record pace since the creation of the euro in 1999. The result has been higher mortgage rates and canceled construction plans due to expensive or unavailable credit.
The central bank’s lending survey shows the lowest level of business loans and credit lines since the statistics started in 2003.
Bank President Christine Lagarde left open whether the bank will keep hiking rates at its next meeting on Sept. 14, saying the decision will depend on incoming inflation data.
Since the rate hikes began, inflation has steadily fallen from a peak of 10.6% in October, but July’s figure of 5.3% is still well above the ECB’s 2% target.
Bank officials say tough action now will spare even more painful restriction of credit later if inflation gets completely out of control.
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| 2023-07-31T20:26:25
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — A KXAN viewer said she saw baby foxes, also known as kits, playing on a trampoline in her garden Sunday in the north Austin, Texas, area.
That was only a couple of weeks after another viewer said she saw a family of foxes playing on the St. Edward’s University campus in Austin.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, it’s not unusual to see foxes in cities and towns, where food sources are easily found, including in your garbage.
While foxes live around the world in many different types of habitats, according to the Texas Wildlife Association, including the Arctic, the desert and even in trees, some foxes have also adapted to life in such urban environments as neighborhoods.
“Next time you are outside in a park, remember to look up, because if you are lucky, you might see a fox up in the trees,” TWA said.
TWA said three types of foxes live in Texas, including the swift fox, the red fox and the gray fox.
The swift, or kit fox, lives in the northwestern part of the state, the red fox inhabits the eastern and central parts, and the gray fox, the most common variety, can be found statewide, the TWA said.
The Humane Society said foxes are scared of people and are not typically dangerous except when they are rabid, which the society says is rare.
“Even then, a fox’s natural tendency is to flee rather than fight,” the Human Society stated.
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| 2023-07-31T20:26:29
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By ANWARULLAH KHAN and RIAZ KHAN (Associated Press)
KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — An Afghan branch of Islamic State on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Pakistan that killed at least 54 people at a pro-Taliban party’s election rally, in one of the region’s worst attacks in recent years.
Islamic State in Khorasan Province made the claim in a statement posted on its Amaq website. It said the attacker detonated an explosive vest, and that the bombing in the northwestern town of Bajur was part of the group’s continuing war against forms of democracy it deems to be against Islam.
Hours earlier, hundreds of mourners in Bajur carried caskets draped in colorful cloths to burial sites following the previous day’s attack at the election rally for the Jamiat Ulema Islam party. Officials said Sunday’s bombing killed 54 people, including at least five children, and wounded nearly 200.
The attack appeared to reflect divisions between Islamist groups, which have a strong presence in the district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. The Jamiat Ulema Islam party has ties to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.
At least 1,000 people were crowded into a tent near a market for the rally ahead of fall elections, according to police.
“People were chanting God is Great as the leaders arrived,” said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent, “and that was when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb.”
Mohammad said he heard people crying for help, and minutes later ambulances arrived and began taking the wounded away.
Police had suggested in their initial investigation that Islamic State in Khorasan Province was a suspect. The group is based in neighboring Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida.
Pakistan security analyst Mahmood Shah also previously had said that breakaway factions of the Pakistani Taliban could be possible suspects, though the group distanced itself from the attack.
The Pakistani military spent years fighting the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, in Bajur before declaring the district clear of militants in 2016. But the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman, has remained a potent political force.
On Monday, police recorded statements from some of the wounded at a hospital in Khar, the district’s principal town.
Female relatives and children wailed and beat their chests at family homes Monday as the dead were taken for funerals, following local customs. Hundreds of men followed the caskets to mosques and open areas for special funeral prayers and then into the hills for burial.
As condolences continued to pour in from across the country, dozens of people who had lesser injuries were discharged from hospital, while the critically wounded were taken to the provincial capital of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll continued to rise as some critically wounded people died in hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.
Gul Akbar, the father of an 11-year-old boy who was wounded in the attack, told The Associated Press that his entire family was in a state of shock after hearing about the bombing Sunday. He said he first went to the scene of the attack, and later found his son Taslim Khan being treated in a hospital in Khar.
“What would I have done if he had also been martyred? Five children died in this barbaric attack, and we want to know what our children did wrong,” he said.
Rehman’s party is preparing to contest elections, which are expected in October or November. Abdul Rasheed, one of the party’s senior leaders, said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that “such attacks cannot deter our resolve.”
Rehman’s party is part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.
Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. Khan condemned the bombing Sunday, as did the U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad.
The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the bombing, saying that it was intended to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, wrote in a tweet that “such crimes cannot be justified in any way.”
The bombing came hours before Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad, where he signed new agreements to boost trade and economic ties to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which China has invested $10 billion in Pakistan over 10 years, according to Sharif.
“We will not tolerate any obstacles in the way of friendship with China,” Sharif said, as he stood next to He.
But the government canceled a cultural event that had been arranged in honor of He, according to Sharif, while the nation mourns.
Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.
Rehman, who has long supported Afghanistan’s Taliban government, survived at least two known bomb attacks in 2011 and 2014, when bombings damaged his car at rallies.
Sunday’s bombing was one of the worst in northwestern Pakistan in the last decade. In 2014, 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.
In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.
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Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this story from Islamabad.
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| 2023-07-31T20:26:31
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WASHINGTON — (AP) — Hunter Biden's former business partner insisted in testimony to Congress Monday that President Joe Biden was never directly involved in their financial dealings, though Hunter would often put his famous father on speakerphone to impress clients and business associates.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee conducted a more than-five hour interview with Devon Archer as part of its expanding congressional inquiry into the Biden family businesses as the GOP explores a potential impeachment inquiry into the president.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers inside the closed-door interview said Archer testified that over the span of 10 years, Hunter Biden put his father on the phone around 20 times while in the company of associates but “never once spoke about any business dealings.”
New York Rep. Dan Goldman, who was representing Democrats inside the room, told reporters after the interview that Archer testified that Hunter sold the “illusion of access” to his father by taking credit for things his father did as vice president that he had no part in.
But Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican member of the Oversight Committee, came out of the interview saying that testimony implicated the president directly. “I think we should do an impeachment inquiry,” the Arizona lawmaker told reporters.
Biggs, reading from his notes, said Archer testified that the Ukrainian gas company "Burisma would have gone out of business sooner if the Biden brand had not been invoked. People would be intimidated to legally mess with Burisma because of the Biden family brand."
Archer, who served with Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma, has been seen by Republicans as a key witness in their search to directly connect the president to his son's various international business transactions.
Rep. James Comer, the GOP chairman of Oversight Committee, issued a subpoena to Archer in June, saying he “played a significant role in the Biden family’s business deals abroad, including but not limited to China, Russia, and Ukraine." He said Archer's testimony would be critical to the committee's investigation.
Republicans have focused much attention on an unverified tip to the FBI that alleged a bribery scheme involving Joe Biden when he was vice president. The claim, which first emerged in 2019, was that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor in order to stop an investigation into Burisma, the oil-and-gas company where Hunter Biden was on the board.
Democrats on the committee, including Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking minority member, have reiterated that the Justice Department investigated the Burisma claim when Donald Trump was president and closed the matter after eight months, finding "insufficient evidence" that it was true. Democrats have also highlighted the transcript of an interview with Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma's co-founder, in which he denied having any contact with Joe Biden while Hunter Biden worked for the company.
“Mr. Zlochevsky’s statements are just one of the many that have debunked the corruption allegations,” Raskin said.
On top of his relationship with Hunter Biden, who is currently facing federal tax charges, Archer has his own legal troubles stemming from a 2018 felony conviction for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe. That conviction was overturned later that year, but the court of appeals in New York reinstated it in 2020. His sentencing in the case has been repeatedly delayed by appeals.
Archer's appearance before lawmakers had been scheduled and canceled several times since June. Republicans suggested it was about to be delayed again after the Justice Department over the weekend asked a judge to schedule a date for Archer to surrender to prison and begin serving out his one-year sentence in the unrelated fraud case.
Republicans — led by Comer — criticized that delay, calling it an effort by the Justice Department to intimidate a witness. But the Justice Department in a follow-up memo to the court noted Archer's surrender was not imminent and asked a judge to ensure that he testified to Congress before reporting to prison.
“Mr. Archer will do what he has planned to do all along, which is to show up this morning and to honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the congressional investigators,” said Archer’s attorney, Matthew Schwartz, who is a managing partner at New York-based firm Boies Schiller Flexner.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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| 2023-07-31T20:26:32
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NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Greece’s prime minister said Monday that his government wants to take full advantage of a developing positive political climate with neighboring Turkey in order to improve bilateral relations despite a string of decades-old disputes.
But Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that doesn’t mean Turkey has “substantially changed” its stance on key differences between the two countries and needs to “decisively abandon its aggressive and unlawful conduct” against Greece’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Turkey and Greece remain at odds over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, a dispute that affects irregular migration into the European Union, mineral rights and the projection of military power.
Mitsotakis said that he agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12 to initiate new “lines of communication” and to maintain “a period of calm.”
High-level talks between the the two countries are expected to take place in the Greek city of Thessaloniki later this year.
However, the Greek prime minister said that Erdogan’s outreach to the EU can’t come at the expense of efforts to heal Cyprus’ nearly half-century ethnic division.
Speaking after talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Mitsotakis said that he told Erdogan that improved European-Turkish ties can’t exclude a Cyprus peace accord and that the issue can’t be “left by the wayside.”
Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriots have insisted on a two-state solution since July 2017 when the most recent round of U.N.-facilitated peace talks collapsed.
That position overturned a long-standing agreement sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in numerous resolutions that any peace deal would aim for a reunified Cyprus as a federation made up of Greek and Turkish speaking zones.
Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island’s northern third, where more than 35,000 Turkish troops are stationed.
On Friday, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar repeated that peace talks could resume only if Greek Cypriots recognize the Turkish Cypriots’ “sovereign equality.”
Christodoulides said Monday that any improvement in European-Turkish relations should be based on reciprocal action by Turkey, adding that the EU prioritizes a Cyprus peace deal in line with U.N. resolutions.
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/business/ap-greek-prime-minister-seeks-improved-relations-with-turkey-but-says-ankara-needs-to-drop-aggression/
| 2023-07-31T20:26:32
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It’s Barbie’s world – and after the first week of the new Barbie movie – it’s clear we’re all just living in it.
In its opening weekend, director Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” smashed box office records with a $155 million debut.
The star-studded cast features leads Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling — along with an ensemble cast including America Ferrera, Issa Rae and Will Ferrell — whose performances are being praised by critics for transforming a film about a beloved children’s doll franchise into a thought-provoking experience about gender norms, double standards and identity.
The diverse film pays homage to Mattel’s efforts to ensure there’s a Barbie and Ken doll that represents different body types, nationalities, looks, and especially careers throughout history, both fans and critics of the franchise say.
But Barbie was not always as diverse as it may seem today. Upon its creation in 1959, the doll promoted a sense of feminism that was largely career-driven and encouraged self-expression. Despite changing with the times, Mattel has been criticized for its Barbies lacking diversity in terms of skin color, size, and not having dolls who represent “everyday” life. Whether or not Barbie fully reflects America’s diversity, many say her successes — and shortcomings — aren’t seen as important to the children who play with her. But many adults, especially parents, feel both the film and toy franchise is the representation they wished for as kids.
Chelsea Reynolds, a feminist media scholar and communications professor at Cal State Fullerton, acknowledged that Barbie has become more diverse in the last 40 years in terms of race, clothing, careers and body size. Today, there are dolls of 35 different skin tones, 97 different hairstyles, and nine different body types. There are Asian Barbies, Black Barbies in wheelchairs and Kens with vitiligo. Earlier this year, Mattel designed its first Barbie doll with Down syndrome.
However, Reynolds said, “I don’t think we see super plus-sized Barbie, I don’t think we see super dark-skinned Barbies specifically.”
Barbara Millicent Roberts was created by Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler, who noticed her daughter Barbara — for whom “Barbie” is named — enjoyed changing the clothes of her own paper dolls. So Handler created a more realistic adult doll with real clothes and more “human-like” functions.
Different versions of Barbie have evolved in nearly every cultural and political era, Reynolds said. In the 50s, she was an emancipating figure for the traditional stay-at-home “housewife,” and in the ’80s, she represented disco and punk. The first Black Barbie, Christie, was invented in 1968. Becky, the first doll in a wheelchair, was released in 1997.
Reynolds said that the toy “presented this new way of envisioning womanhood. Barbie wasn’t necessarily a mom. Barbie wasn’t necessarily only in a caretaking role. She was like this autonomous, independent woman who could be pretty much anything.”
Through the decades, the company’s many collections try to spotlight diversity — including “Dolls of the World,” featuring Barbies in cultural and traditional dress, and the ongoing “Global Sheroes” line honoring female icons from history. A 1981 “Oriental Barbie” was later ill-received.
In 2016, when dolls weren’t selling well, Mattel rolled out Barbies with different body types, hair textures and disabilities. But when the wheelchairs for Barbies with disabilities couldn’t fit through the Barbie DreamHouse, the doll was discontinued — undermining the company’s efforts for inclusive branding.
Concerned about the impact a lack of representation can have on a child’s self-esteem and empowerment, both Mattel and other toy companies have since created more “everyday”-looking dolls — including Healthy Roots and Jilly Bing — with features including smaller-shaped eyes and big curly hair.
And for first-generation, immigrant children, Reynolds said that those efforts, however imperfect, really matter. Barbie represents a “cultural notion of Americana that is important to many communities of color,” she said. And in the film, diverse Hollywood stars are cast as dolls that “purposely represent this new ‘Americana.’”
“This version of Barbie that Greta Gerwig presented was dismantling so many of the gender norms that I think we associate with dolls, and specifically with Barbie dolls, as girls’ toys,” Reynolds said. “I think that the way that patriarchy was challenged by Barbie in the movie is emblematic of what she has always done — giving women or girls the ability to imagine themselves in a society that is unlike the one that we live in.”
At a Barbie-themed storytime hosted by the Anaheim Public Library, there was no shortage of pink — the color the film most visually embraces. Parents at the event all agreed that it’s important for little girls and boys to have the mindset embodied in Mattel’s vast doll empire: “You Can Be Anything.”
Diana Fuentes, from Brea, said that children now have a wider selection of dolls on the shelves that look “just like them.” She praised how her 6-year-old daughter can play with Barbies that represent both her physical attributes and career dreams.
“I’m Hispanic, and if I see a doll that’s Hispanic, if I’m a child then I’m like, ‘Oh, that could be me one day,’” Fuentes said. “They put themselves in their shoes, so when (Barbie) doesn’t look like or resemble them, it’s harder for them to see themselves being that in the future.”
Sarah Martinez, from Buena Park, agreed that it’s important for kids to see toys that represent people they interact with daily; in their school, neighborhood and community. She remembered playing with Barbie in the ’90s with childhood friends.
“Our world didn’t have that,” she said, noting that she usually played with a brunette doll that reflected her hair type, but that was all.
Fourteen-year-old Ava Rodriguez said she watched the new movie with her family, and it reminded her how nice it is to have a doll that “looks like you, who you can relate with.” Playing with her Barbie when she was younger always made her feel like she could be anyone she wanted to be.
“When (my sister Gabby and I) were playing with Barbie, you were able to do anything, be in your own world, not have anyone tell you what to do,” Rodriguez said.
But some parents raised the question of whether representation in the Barbie doll franchise – much like many global companies’ efforts to diversify their brands – starts to feel inauthentic.
After the film’s release, Jason Munoz from Woodland Hills visited the new “World of Barbie” pop-up experience in Santa Monica with his family. He was more skeptical, calling out the franchise for leaning “too much” into ethnic stereotypes. He said that his daughters were looking to find a Barbie that reflects their Mexican heritage.
“When I see something that’s (branded) a Mexican Barbie, it has to have a Mexican dress, and that’s not an everyday Mexican person I see,” Munoz said. “They’re just like you and me… just normal people that live everyday lives.“
Reynolds, the feminist media scholar, was uncertain about whether the film’s casting was truly authentic.
“It’s hard to tell whether this movie is authentically representing diversity, or whether it’s meeting the industry quotas that have been established over the last few years,” she said. “I don’t know; I’m not mad to see it.”
Actor Issa Rae’s role as the Black female president of Barbieland, the film’s main setting, as well as the casting of one Asian American Ken — played by Simu Liu — and one curvy Barbie, played by Sharon Rooney, can be seen as “tokenizing” since both actors do not play prominent roles in the movie, Reynolds said.
“On the one hand, you can argue that’s representation. On the other hand, you can argue that maybe Greta Gerwig slapped a person into each role that fit the diversity model that Hollywood is looking for these days.”
Still, she said, the movie did a “tremendous job at getting complex topics like feminism and equity issues into the living rooms and homes around America.”
Mia Tustison from Corona won a Riverside County competition award in the spring for her Barbie-themed history project. She built a website that explores different perspectives surrounding Barbie — from inspiring women to be “more than what was expected of them,” to being glorified for her unrealistic body proportions — and its controversy.
The 14-year-old incoming freshman at Santiago High School said that Mattel’s efforts to build a more diverse toy line were mostly driven by sales. She watched the film with her family on opening weekend, wearing the brand’s signature pink.
Tustison highlighted the movie’s feminist-heavy message, but thought that its diversity is more reflected in its ensemble, not the starring roles. Still, she hoped the movie opens people’s eyes to be able to point out and “criticize things that are happening, things that are holding us back as a society.”
“I think (“Barbie” the movie) is not changing culture, with the way we look at diversity. That has already been shifting,” Tustison said. “I think it’s a reflection and commentary on that shift.”
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| 2023-07-31T20:26:34
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18-year-old from ‘Brainy Bunch’ family graduates with master’s degree
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA/Gray News) – At age 18, most people are just heading into their freshman year of undergraduate studies. But one 18-year-old from Alabama is graduating with her master’s degree.
Marianna Harding is graduating from Auburn University with a master’s degree in agriculture at the age of 18.
She also graduated from high school at age 11.
Harding comes from a Montgomery family known as “The Brainy Bunch” – she is one of 10 children, most of whom started college by the age of 12. One of the boys even graduated law school at 19.
All the children grew up homeschooled. Harding is the eighth child in the family.
She said there was always healthy competition between siblings.
“We all had different interest levels, and most of us different colleges,” she said.
In 2022, Harding earned her bachelor’s degree virtually from a university in Nebraska. Shortly after, she was off to Auburn’s campus to get her master’s degree.
“Although my focus was very much on studies, there was no lack of fun times,” she said.
While on campus, Harding was part of multiple clubs, a campus employee, and kept active in her church. She hopes that her story will encourage others to go after their goals no matter their age.
Now that she has graduated, Harding will begin working for the Lee County Extension where she’ll teach others about agriculture.
Parents Kip and Mona Lisa Harding made an appearance on NBC’s “Today Show” in 2014 to discuss their book, “The Brainy Bunch: The Harding Family’s Method to College Ready by Age Twelve.” They also have a YouTube channel.
“My kids are not any smarter than anybody else’s, they’re really motivated and they’re very hard working, but really feel like anyone can get these kinds of results,” Mona Lisa Harding said during a 2021 interview.
Copyright 2023 WSFA via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/18-year-old-brainy-bunch-family-graduates-with-masters-degree/
| 2023-07-31T20:26:34
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will travel to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah next week and is expected to talk about his administration’s efforts to combat climate change as the region endures a brutally hot summer with soaring temperatures, the White House said Monday.
Biden is expected to discuss the Inflation Reduction Act, America’s most significant response to climate change, and the push toward more clean energy manufacturing. The act aims to spur clean energy on a scale that will bend the arc of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
July has been the hottest month ever recorded. Biden last week announced new steps to protect workers in extreme heat, including measures to improve weather forecasts and make drinking water more accessible.
Members of Biden’s administration also are fanning out over the next few weeks around the anniversary of the landmark climate change and health care legislation to extol the administration’s successes as the Democratic president seeks reelection in 2024.
Vice President Kamala Harris heads to Wisconsin this week with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to talk about broadband infrastructure investments. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack goes to Oregon to highlight wildfire defense grants, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will go to Illinois and Texas, and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona heads to Maryland to talk about career and technical education programs.
The Inflation Reduction Act included roughly $375 billion over a decade to combat climate change and capped the cost of a month’s supply of insulin at $35 for older Americans and other Medicare beneficiaries. It also helps an estimated 13 million Americans pay for health care insurance by extending subsidies provided during the coronavirus pandemic.
The measure is paid for by new taxes on large companies and stepped-up IRS enforcement of wealthy individuals and entities, with additional funds going to reduce the federal deficit.
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https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/political-news/ap-politics/ap-biden-goes-west-to-talk-about-his-administrations-efforts-to-combat-climate-change/
| 2023-07-31T20:26:35
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